Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries 1-1 (May 2009)Wouter van der Meer: Harvesting underwater meadows, use of eelgrass (Zostera spp.) as indicated by the Dutch archaeological record.

1 Eelgrass – a short description

All species within the genus Zostera are submerged, hydrophytic plants, growing in salty to brackish water. Only two species are endemic in the Netherlands: (common) eelgrass (Zostera marina) and dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltii).

Even though not closely related to true grasses (Poaceae), eelgrass has some more or less similar morphological features, hence the name. Common eelgrass has leaves of about one metre long and roughly half a centimetre wide (Fig. 1). The leaves are connected to stems growing from a perennial rhizome. Like grass the species can easily propagate through its rhizome, forming extensive mats. Dwarf eelgrass is of similar shape, but smaller in every aspect (Fig. 2). The two species prefer a slightly different ecotope: common eelgrass appears in a zone between just above and up to several meters below low-water mark, while dwarf eelgrass grows in the zone between low and high- water mark (Hegi 1981, 203-213).

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Fig. 1a: Dried common eelgrass (Zostera marina). (photo by author)

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Fig. 1b: Picture of common eelgrass (Zostera marina) leaf. (magnification 40x, photo by author)

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Fig. 1c: Picture of common eelgrass (Zostera marina) fruit. (photo by author)

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Fig. 2: Picture of dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltii) fruit, (photo by author)