Fruits, Seeds and Germination in the Seagrass Halophila ovalis (Hydrocharitaceae)

Abstract

Fruits of Halophila ovalis (R. Br.) D. J. Hooker develop on rhizome nodes of the female plants during summer to autumn (February to April) in southern Western Australia. The fruit is protected by a pair of bracts and fruit walls consisting of several enlarged parenchyma cells which contain starch grains. In each fruit there are between one and sixteen seeds with a mean of 7.4 seeds per fruit. The seed has an embryo with a distinct leaf primordium protected by a curved cotyledon, and an enlarged hypocotyl. The hypocotyl consists of numerous uniform parenchymatous cells containing packed starch, protein and lipid as nutrient storage (...)