also: うみくさ · うみぐさ
marine plant; seagrass
Botanical term for flowering plants that live in marine environments, distinct from algae (海藻).
Seagrass grows by putting down roots on the seabed.
Various marine plants inhabit this bay.
Colloquial use; in everyday speech, 海草 often refers to seaweed in general, though botanically 海藻 is more precise.
See also: 海藻
A lot of seaweed had washed up on the shore.
Standard kanji spelling; the reading かいそう is the most common.
Rare kun'yomi reading; may appear in older or poetic contexts.
Rare voiced variant of うみくさ; not commonly used.
Compound of 海 (sea) and 草 (grass/plant). The reading かいそう is the standard on'yomi. The kun'yomi readings うみくさ and うみぐさ are rare and likely older or dialectal.