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Phyllospadix torreyi

Torrey's surfgrass

Zosteraceae

Northeastern Pacific coast (British Columbia to Baja California)

Native to North America

SunFull Sun

WaterHigh

Overview

Phyllospadix torreyi is a marine flowering plant, one of the surfgrasses, that grows attached to rock in the surf zone of exposed Pacific coasts. It produces long, thread-like leaves 20-80 inches (50-200 cm) long and about 0.04-0.08 inch (1-2 mm) wide, bright green and flexible, streaming in the water with the wave surge. The plant anchors to rock by tough, wiry roots with stiff bristles that grip crevices, and spreads by branching rhizomes to form dense underwater meadows. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants; tiny flowers are clustered on flattened structures hidden among the leaf bases and pollinated underwater by thread-like pollen carried in the current. After fertilization the female plants form curved, horned fruits that catch on the bristles of other surfgrass roots, which is how new plants establish. It grows from the low intertidal into shallow subtidal water on wave-swept rocky shores. Native to the northeastern Pacific, it forms habitat and shelter for fish, invertebrates, and the attached eggs of marine animals. It is a wild marine species and is not cultivated in gardens.

Native Range

Phyllospadix torreyi is native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean, ranging along the coast from southern British Columbia and Washington south through California to Baja California, Mexico. It grows on wave-exposed rocky shores from the low intertidal zone into shallow subtidal water.

Suggested Uses

It is not used in horticulture and is not planted in gardens. Within its native range it is used in marine conservation and restoration for stabilizing rocky-shore habitat and sheltering fish and invertebrates. It also forms part of beach wrack that returns nutrients to shoreline food webs.

How to Identify

Identified by very long, narrow, bright green thread-like leaves, about 0.04-0.08 inch (1-2 mm) wide and up to 80 inches (200 cm) long, attached to rock in the surf. The leaves are flat with rounded tips and arise from creeping rhizomes anchored by bristly roots. Surfgrasses differ from the wider, ribbon-leaved eelgrass Zostera marina, which roots in soft mud and sand rather than on exposed rock.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height1'8" - 6'8"

Width/Spread1' - 3'

Colors

Flower Colors

green

Foliage Colors

green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~8 weeks

Winter Spring

Flowering occurs mainly in winter and spring, with tiny flowers borne on flattened spadix-like structures concealed among the leaf bases. The plants are pollinated underwater by filamentous pollen drifting in the current. Curved, horned fruits ripen afterward and lodge on the roots of established plants.

Detailed Descriptions

Foliage Description

bright green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range7.5 - 8.4(Alkaline)

357912

Soil Types

rocky

Drainagewet

Water & Climate

Water Needs

High

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Phyllospadix torreyi grows only in cool, well-oxygenated, full-strength seawater on wave-swept rock in the low intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. It depends on strong water movement, which oxygenates the meadow and carries pollen and nutrients, and on stable rocky substrate for its bristly anchoring roots. It tolerates brief exposure to air at low tide but not prolonged drying, and it declines where sediment buries the rock or where water clarity drops. It is sensitive to coastal pollution and trampling. The species is a wild marine plant and is not cultivated; in the wild it spreads by drifting horned fruits and by rhizome growth. Stands recover slowly after disturbance.

Pruning

No pruning applies to this marine species. Leaves are naturally shed and regrown through the year, and broken leaves are replaced from the rhizome. Wrack cast onto beaches after storms is made up partly of detached surfgrass leaves.