One of the most popular materials for furnishings and flooring right now is seagrass. Seagrass furniture, sea grass rugs and seagrass storage baskets can be found in stores everywhere from discount retailers to high-end boutiques. Beautiful, lightweight and sturdy, seagrass can be used like wicker or rattan. It’s far more versatile than either of those two materials, though, and far more beneficial to the planet.
What Is Seagrass?
Despite its ribbon-like, grassy shards, seagrass isn’t technically a grass at all. it is a flowering plant that has evolved to live on ocean floors. The plant is more closely related to lilies than to true grasses. Seagrass grows in large beds, which resemble meadows – another reason why it is called “grass.”
Scientists say that seagrasses evolved from land plants approximately 100 million years ago in four successive waves, representing the four distinct seagrass families: Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae. Today, there are approximately 60 species of seagrass.
Over a billion people around the world live within 30 miles of a seagrass meadow, and have obtained their protein from animals that live in seagrass beds for thousands of years. The Seri Indians collected the seeds of the local seagrass and ground them to make flour; their harvest month is named after their word for seagrass. For at least 10,000 years, people have also been using seagrass to insulate houses, thatch roofs and stuff furniture. Seagrass flooring isn’t a new innovation at all!
In recent years, seagrass has assumed economic importance in new ways as local people begin to harvest seagrass for use in crafts like baskets, rugs and other home decor items. Many of the local communities that were hard hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have turned to seagrass farming as a means of sustenance following the collapse of local fishing industries.
Seagrass is also a salt marsh grass grown in paddy fields which are annually flooded with seawater at the growing season and hence the name Seagrass. The paddy fields where the seagrass grows are found predominantly across areas of Southeast Asia. Although thick and rigid, seagrass is quite smooth and its natural green color also has a light sheen to it.
The seagrass that is grown in paddy fields is more commonly used to make natural seagrass rugs. It is very affordable, resilient to stains and is also great for people with allergies as it does not draw dirt or dust as much as other fibers.
Where Does Seagrass Come From?
Seagrass that is used to make rugs is more commonly cultivated in paddy fields throughout areas of Southeast Asia. Due to the nature of the natural fiber and that it has been flooded with seawater during the cultivation process seagrass is more inclined to damage from moisture. Care needs to be taken in wet environments such as bathrooms or kitchens where there maybe excess moisture and humidity or the likelihood of mold and mildew.
Ocean Seagrasses are most often found in shallow and sheltered coastal waters. They are usually anchored in mud or sand. The highest concentrations of seagrasses are found along Africa’s eastern coast and the coastal waters off Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Maldives.
Ocean Seagrass beds are visible to astronauts in outer space who have identified a nearly continuous meadow off the western and southern coasts of Australia that stretch for 770 miles, and another south of the Florida Everglades that comprises 5,380 square miles.
What Products Are Made from Seagrass?
Many different types of products are made from seagrass. One of its most popular uses currently is in beautiful sea grass rugs and carpets. Seagrass can also be used to make anything that is currently made from wicker or rattan including couches, chairs, tables and other types of seagrass furniture as well as seagrass storage baskets, plant containers, wine racks and other decorative objects.
Seagrass is among the most stain resistant of all natural fibers. A seagrass rug has a beautiful texture and will stand up to rugged use, making it the perfect choice for a high traffic area of your home. A seagrass carpet is not treated with dyes or other toxins so it will not adversely affect the health of chemically sensitive household members. Seagrass flooring comes in a variety of beautiful natural shades that range from sage to green to brown. When you first unroll it, you may notice a subtle hay-like fragrance that dissipates over time.
What Are the Benefits of Natural Fibers?
Natural fibers are fibers derived from plants and animals. Plant fibers are derived from the stems, leaves or seeds of plants, while animal fibers come from fur, hair or cocoons. Natural fibers are made without the use of chemicals.
In contrast, synthetic fibers are made from petroleum-based polymers. They don’t breathe as easily or respond as readily to changes in temperature, so if you are wearing a garment made from synthetic fibers on a hot day, sweat will build up on your skin. This sweat can be an excellent breeding ground for fungal organisms and bacteria, which is why people who wear synthetic fibers a lot tend to suffer from far more skin irritations.
Many artificial fibers also continue to give off small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOC) through the lifespan of whatever product they’re incorporated into. This predisposes people who wear garments made of these fibers to allergic reactions involving the skin and respiratory system. In extremely sensitive people, these VOC can even compromise the immune system. This can be a particular problem in rugs and carpets made from synthetic fibers since VOC may compromise the air quality inside your home.
If you who are interested in Ocean Seagrass Here are Some Interesting Facts
Seagrasses help the environment in many ways, starting with the fact that they help degrade human pollution that ends up going into the ocean. Scientists say that an acre of seagrass can absorb 6.4 pounds of nutrients in a year, which is equivalent to the treated wastes of 490 people.
Dense seagrass beds are estimated to have as much leaf area as an equivalent acreage of rain forests, and produce just as much oxygen. An acre of seagrass also sequesters over 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, roughly the equivalent to the emissions from an automobile traveling 4,000 miles. Although seagrasses only make up 0.1 percent of the ocean floor, they’re responsible for 11 percent of the carbon in the ocean, which makes them instrumental in trapping greenhouse gasses.
Seagrasses are also an extremely important to coral reefs because they trap sediment that might otherwise damage delicate the delicate coral. They also dissipate wave energy, sheltering coral reefs from storms.
Who Loves Ocean Seagrass?
Seagrass beds are diverse ecosystems in which hundreds of ocean species live out their lives. They provide a nursery for species like prawns, lobsters and crabs, and provide food for juvenile salmon and other commercially important fish. Seagrasses are the primary food source for marine mammals like manatees and dugong. They’re also a major food source for sea turtles, ducks and geese.
Seagrass furniture and seagrass flooring is not only a beautiful addition to your home, it’s also a strong statement about your commitment to a sustainable future. Seagrass is naturally renewable, stain-resistant, highly durable and very attractive, which makes it a seagrass rug the perfect choice for your home.
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