Zostera pacifica

Pacific eel grass

Family: Zosteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pacific eel grass is a native perennial found in coastal bioregions including North Coast, Central Coast, Southern Coast, and Channel Islands in subtidal waters rooted 4 to 17 meters below mean low tide. Flowering in August, this aquatic plant produces inconspicuous flowers embedded within its long, ribbon-like leaves. Growing as a slender underwater herb with leaves up to 110 centimeters long and 12 to 18.5 millimeters wide, it forms dense underwater meadows. Its leaves have distinctive notched tips and emerge from nodes with multiple roots, creating a delicate underwater structure. This marine plant plays a critical role in coastal ecosystems, providing habitat and stabilizing seafloor sediments.

Habitat: Common. Subtidal waters

Bloom period: (May)Aug

Elevation: rooted generally 4-17 m below mean low tide

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SCo, ChI

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.