Moliço
Encyclopedia
Moliço is the
Portuguese
word for the submerged aquatic
vegetation
collected for use in agriculture
. This word was derived from the Latin
mollis, used for expressing the quality soft.
plants which grow in saline
water, called in English
seagrass
es, but it can also be applied to the macro
algae
growing together with the seagrasses. Another type of macro algae, including the brown algae of the Sargassus genus
is named sargaço. It is collected from the surf
zone in the northern Portuguese beaches, and is also used in the agriculture.
of Ria de Aveiro, on the northern Portuguese coast. There it was collected in large quantity by raking
from typical sailing boat
s called moliceiro. The most abundant plant was the eelgrass, including Zostera
marina, Z. angustifolia and Z. noltii and some other salt
tolerant aquatic plants like Ruppia
and Potamogeton
.
In the 19th and 20th centuries the collection of moliço had an important role in removing plant nutrients from the Ria de Aveiro helping to stabilize this eutrophic lagoon.
The moliceiro boat is long, pine
wood built, belonging to the Mediterranean family of small boats which in Portuguese have the generic name bateira. The most fascinating aspect of these boats is their ornamental
paintings following strict rules of popular origin.
Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
word for the submerged aquatic
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
collected for use in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. This word was derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
mollis, used for expressing the quality soft.
Meaning
The name moliço is generally used for vascularVascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
plants which grow in saline
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
water, called in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
es, but it can also be applied to the macro
Macroscopic
The macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or processes are of a size which is measurable and observable by the naked eye.When applied to phenomena and abstract objects, the macroscopic scale describes existence in the world as we perceive it, often in contrast to experiences or...
algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
growing together with the seagrasses. Another type of macro algae, including the brown algae of the Sargassus genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
is named sargaço. It is collected from the surf
Ocean surface wave
In fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
zone in the northern Portuguese beaches, and is also used in the agriculture.
Use
Moliço was particularly important in the coastal lagoonLagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
of Ria de Aveiro, on the northern Portuguese coast. There it was collected in large quantity by raking
Rake (tool)
A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
from typical sailing boat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
s called moliceiro. The most abundant plant was the eelgrass, including Zostera
Zostera
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...
marina, Z. angustifolia and Z. noltii and some other salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
tolerant aquatic plants like Ruppia
Ruppiaceae
Ruppia, also known as the ditch grasses, is the only genus in the family Ruppiaceae. Such a family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists...
and Potamogeton
Potamogeton
Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
.
In the 19th and 20th centuries the collection of moliço had an important role in removing plant nutrients from the Ria de Aveiro helping to stabilize this eutrophic lagoon.
The moliceiro boat is long, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
wood built, belonging to the Mediterranean family of small boats which in Portuguese have the generic name bateira. The most fascinating aspect of these boats is their ornamental
Painter and decorator
A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter...
paintings following strict rules of popular origin.