FLOWERING OF THE SEAGRASS HALODULE-WRIGHTII IN NORTH-CAROLINA, USA

Halodule wrightii Aschers. is a tropical euryhaline dioecious seagrass which is broadly distributed in shallow marine waters on the mainland side of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Previous reports of H. wri ghtii in North Carolina have been limited to observations of sterile p lants. During June through August 1990, and in May 1991, we observed a nd photographed male and female flowers of H. wrightii collected betwe en Cape Lookout and Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. Although we did not find seeds of H. wrightii in the sediment of that region, seeds were f ound south of Cape Lookout in Bogue Sound in 1991. Our observations co nfirm that Dare County, North Carolina, is the northern limit for occu rrence of H. wrightii along the Atlantic coast of North America.