Halodule species from Malaysia - distribution and morphological variation

Halodule uninervis (Forssk.) Aschers. and Halodule pinifolia (Miki) den Har tog are widely distributed throughout the coastlines of Malaysia which appe ar to be segregated with quite different ecological preferences. H. uninerv is occurs around off shore islands or shoals and reef atoll. It rarely thri ves in the coastal waters of the mainland. H. pinifolia tends to thrive in relatively calm coastal waters of the mainland, particularly in lagoons or bays and as isolated populations on shoals. It is rarely found around islan ds. Two morphological variants of H, uninervis (narrow and wide leaved) and H, pinifolia (short and long leaved) can be distinguished. The description s of the general vegetative morphology and anomalies as well as the reprodu ctive morphology are given. The potential roles of Halodule in coastal envi ronment are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.