Zosteraceae - eelgrass family
This family is composed of 18 species in three genera that are "widely distributed in temperate oceans worldwide". (Haynes 2000)

Mount Desert Island is home to 1 species in 1 genus. Click on a link below or scroll down for more information.
   Zostera (1 species)
      Zostera marina - eelgrass (occasional [see note 1 at bottom of page])

Zostera (eelgrass)
Of the 12 species of Zostera worldwide, only one species grows in the saltwater around Mount Desert Island. Despite the sound of its common name, eelgrass is not a member of the grass family (Poaceae).

Zostera marina (eelgrass) is the only truly marine tracheophyte in the Mount Desert Island region. Some species of plants grow in saltmarshes, and others on the coast are partially or sometimes completely submerged at high tide, but only Zostera marina lives in the ocean. It can be seen in Ship Harbor on the west side of the island and in the cove at Otter Creek on the east side.



   An eelgrass restoration project is underway at Hadley Point. Above is an underwater photo of eelgrass growing there, and below is a photo of eelgrass growing on a grid weighted down by bricks. Dr. Jane Disney of Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory explains (6 April 2010): "That is how we are re-planting eelgrass. We tie plants on the wire grids, place them on the ocean floor, and wait a year until the plants take root. Three summers of restoration and conservation efforts by a collection of community partners has resulted in an increase in this subtidal angiosperm, from less than 1% coverage in 2007 to just over 8% coverage in 2009. Historically, this area was 80% covered with eelgrass. It is a slow road to recovery, but a possible road." [both photos by Jane Disney]

Note:
   1. Frequency designation is from the paper "Vascular flora of the Acadia National Park region, Maine" by Craig W. Greene, Linda L. Gregory, Glen H. Mittelhauser, Sally C. Rooney, and Jill E. Weber, published in the spring 2005 issue (vol. 107, No. 930) of Rhodora: Journal of the New England Botanical Club.

Literature cited:
   Haynes, Robert R. 2000. Zosteraceae. Pp. 90–94 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, editors. Flora of North America North of Mexico, vol. 22. New York: Oxford University Press.