Zostera noltiiHornem.

WFO wfo-0000770324 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. a Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-25 / obs. 190819293
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. b Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146982386
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. c Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 132084013
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. d Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 133547135
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. e Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125074875
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. f Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125721934
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. g Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 113436550
Zostera noltii, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. h Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 102146776

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Native range 42 botanical countries

Regions where Zostera noltii is native: Algeria, Canary Is., Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara, East Aegean Is., Iran, Kazakhstan, North Caucasus, Sinai, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Albania, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corse, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaEgyptLibyaMauritaniaMoroccoTunisiaWestern SaharaEast Aegean Is.IranKazakhstanNorth CaucasusSinaiTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanAlbaniaBelgiumBulgariaCorseDenmarkFranceGermanyGreeceIrelandItalyKrymNetherlandsNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine Canary Is.BalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Zostera noltii, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Baleares BAL
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Corse COR
Denmark DEN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Canary Is. CNY
Egypt EGY
Libya LBY
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Tunisia TUN
Western Sahara WSA
East Aegean Is. EAI ASIA-TEMPERATE
Iran IRN
Kazakhstan KAZ
North Caucasus NCS
Sinai SIN
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 10 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Nanozostera noltei (Hornem.) Toml. & Posl.
  • Phucagrostis minor Cavolini
  • Zostera emarginata Ehrenb. & Hemprich ex Asch.
  • Zostera minor Nolte ex Rchb.
  • Zostera nana Roth
  • Zostera nana var. latifolia Harmsen
  • Zostera nodosa Guss.
  • Zostera pumila Le Gall
  • Zostera trinervis Stokes
  • Zostera uninervis Vahl ex Rchb.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.