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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Halophila stipulacea (Halophila seagrass) |
Halophila stipulacea (HYDROCHARITACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Halophila stipulaceaAsch.
Published in Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 1867: 3 (1867) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Hydrocharitaceae Juss. (The Tape Grass Family)
1 species from the Hydrocharitaceae family is recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Halophila seagrass |
Maltese name(s) : |
Ħalofila |
Status for Malta : |
Naturalised Alien. Species that was introduced in Malta after year 1492 (Columbus' discovery of the New World)
and spreads and integrates to form established, non-invasive populations.
Species may become become invasive if it widespreads rapidly. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Monocotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Hydrophyte ( living in water or on the water surface ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
All Year |
Colour of Flowers: |
Inconspicuous |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Halophila: Salt-loving, for the maritime habitat of the species. (Greek origin)
stipulacea: ()
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
Remarks : |
A native seagrass to the Indian Ocean that entered and slowly spread westwards into the Mediterranean after the opening of the Suez Canal. Recorded from Malta in the 70s. |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Submerged marine plant; rhizomes slender, creeping, with 2 scales at each node. Leaves opposite, up to 60 × 8 mm, in single pairs on short shoots, shortly petiolate, linear to oblong, obtuse, serrulate, 3-veined, with numerous ascending secondary veins, glabrous or more or less papillose or puberulent. Flowers unisexual. Spathes 2-valved, sessile, usually 1-flowered. Petals absent. Male flowers pedicellate; stamens 3; anthers sessile; pollen moniliform. Ovary subsessile within the spathe, attenuated into a slender apical beak; styles 3, simple, filiform, free. Fruit with a membranous pericarp; 5 mm long, ellipsoid, with a beak 4-6 mm; seeds 30-40. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Marine species growing on submerged sand or mud
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Sediment and sand at the bottom of the sea
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Distributional range |
Mediterranean sea, westwards to Malta.
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Native region outside Europe |
Red Sea, W. Indian Ocean
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Introduced in Crete, Greece, Sicily and/or Malta
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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AE(G) Eg Ir dLi Sn [Al nCr Cy nGr nSi Si(M S)]
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| Links & Further literature
(1 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
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The Tropical Seagrass Halophila stipulacea: Reviewing what we know from its native and invasive habitats, alongside identifying knowledge gaps |
Winters, G., Beer, S., Willette, D.A. et al. (2020) |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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| Species Images (2 images) | |
Halophila stipulacea - Image Code: HLOST-0.
| Halophila stipulacea - Image Code: HLOST-1.
| Only 2 images of Halophila stipulacea are available. If you can share your own images of this species with this website, please do so by using the image upload form below. Credits are given to the authors.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
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Online Purchase (Images)
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| Contribute Information or Report Errors |
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage.
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
