The sea-grasses of Brazil

There is still hardly anything known about the occurrence of sea-grasses in South America. The number of records is extremely small. Therefore, one wonders whether these plants are extremely rare or absent along long stretches of coast, or whether it is just that they have been overlooked by botanists. It seems that the latter applies to the coast of Brazil, from where up to now only two collections had been recorded (Setchell 1934; den Hartog 1970). Thanks to the active, gratefully acknowledged co-operation of Dr. Liliane Forneris (Universidade de Sao Paulo) I received a number of sea-grasses from several places along the Brazilian coast. I am also indebted to Dr. Emilia Santos (Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro) and Dr. Graziela M. Barroso (Jardim Botanico, Rio de Janeiro) for sending me a specimen and a photograph, respectively, of Halophila decipiens. Further, I am grateful to Dr. V. J. H. de Jilovice de Sternberg (Companhia ‘Algimar’, Rio de Janeiro) for his co-operation in obtaining material. At present there are 5 species now known from Brazil.