Submarine Plants
At The Datai Langkawi, we are used to finding natural debris washed ashore in the bay. Empty shells and coral pieces are common features we can see on the beach, with mangrove seedlings, seaweed, and hardy drift seeds like coconuts and putat making occasional appearances.
On a gusty and rough day not too long ago, we found strands of seagrass on the beach. Initially thought to be a one-time phenomenon, we continued to discover more seagrass left on the beach days and weeks later. There is a possibility that there could be some patches of seagrass thriving in the bay.
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants that can survive in the ocean. Unlike seaweed, seagrasses actually have roots that grow into the seafloor in shallow waters, holding themselves in place and absorbing nutrients like other true plants. They are even pollinated by tiny crustaceans during the flowering season!
We hope to carry out some exploratory surveys to search for patches, or perhaps even larger meadows, of seagrass in the bay when weather conditions improve.
This is a pressing of the Spoon grass, Halophila ovalis, weeks after its retrieval from the beach. One can clearly view the rhizome, a connective root system for the sharing of resources like energy and nutrients.