The sea of grass critical essays

) The 72 species of seagrasses are commonly divided into four main groups: Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Posidoniaceae and Cymodoceaceae. Their common names, like eelgrass, turtle grass, tape grass, shoal grass, and spoon grass, reflect their many shapes and sizes and roles in marine ecosystems.

Seagrasses support commercial fisheries and biodiversity, clean the surrounding water and help take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Because of these benefits, seagrasses are believed to be the third most valuable ecosystem in the world (only preceded by estuaries and wetlands).

Self-pollination happens in some grass species, which can reduce genetic variation. Individual seagrass plants avoid this by producing only male or female flowers, or by producing the male and female flowers at different times. Just like land grasses, fertilized seagrass flowers develop seeds.

Whitman's poetics also rely on careful control of the indicative and imperative moods (described in a recommended essay by Galway Kinnell; see the Suggested Reading). The critical and popular response to Leaves of Grass was mixed and bewildered.