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Species
Spartina alterniflora var. pilosa (Merr.) Fern.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Perennials, Aquatic, leaves emergent, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome elo ngate, creeping, stems distant, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems solitary, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Plants aromatic or malodorous, Stem internodes solid or spongy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 2-6 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 1-2 cm wide, Leaf blades 2 or more cm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Ligule present, Ligule a fringe of hairs, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence a panicle with narrowly racemose or spicate branches, Inflorescence with 2-10 branches, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Inflorescence branches 1-sided, Rachis angular, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets sessile or subsessile, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets secund, in rows on one side of rachis, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes keeled or winged, Glume surface hairy, villous or pilose, Glumes 1 nerved, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma body or surface hairy, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma apex ac ute or acuminate, Lemma awnless, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea longer than lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Compiled from several sources by Dr. David Bogler, Missouri Botanical Garden in collaboration with the USDA NRCS NPDC |
Source | http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SPAL |
Foodplant / feeds on
ascocarp of Buergenerula spartinae feeds on Spartina alterniflora
Foodplant / pathogen
ergot of Claviceps purpurea var. spartinae infects and damages live ovary of Spartina alterniflora
Foodplant / sap sucker
Prokelisia marginata sucks sap of Spartina alterniflora
Perennial with soft fleshy rhizomes. Culms stout, forming large clumps, erect, (0.5–)1–2(–3) m tall, ca. 1 cm in diam. Leaf sheaths mostly longer than internodes, smooth; leaf blades linear-lanceolate, flat, 10–90 × 1–2 cm, smooth or margins minutely scabrous, tapering to long hard involute apex; ligule ca. 1 mm. Racemes racemosely arranged, (5–)10–20, 5–20 cm, slender, erect or slightly spreading; spikelets scarcely overlapping; rachis smooth, terminating in a bristle up to 3 cm. Spikelets ca. 10 mm, glabrous or nearly so; lower glume linear, 1/2–2/3 as long as spikelet, acute; upper glume ovate-lanceolate, as long as spikelet, glabrous or with very short hairs on keel, subacute; lemma lanceolate-oblong to narrowly ovate, glabrous; palea slightly longer than lemma. Anthers 5–6 mm. 2n = 62.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250033755 |
Spartina glabra is prey of:
Insecta
Based on studies in:
USA: Massachusetts, Cape Ann (Marine)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
Spartina glabra Muhlenberg ex Elliott var. alterniflora (Loiseleur) Merrill; S. maritima (Curtis) Fernald var. alterni-flora (Loiseleur) St.-Yves; S. stricta Roth var. alterniflora (Loiseleur) A. Gray; Trachynotia alterniflora (Loiseleur) Candolle.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250033755 |
Spartina alterniflora is distributed widely along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland in North America south along the South American continent to Argentina. It is adapted to near shore habitats including salt marshes, mudflats and estuarine margins.
The aquatic grass, which has the common name Smooth cordgrass, has a rhizomous rooting system, and manifests stem lengths of about 1.5 meters, with emergent leaves. This species has a very efficient photosynthetic capability at temperatures lower than some other genus members. Combined with its high salinity tolerance, this characteristic allows Smooth cordgrass to outcompete and hybridize with certain genus members, when it appears as an alien species. This phenomenon has occurred in the British Isles and along the west coast of California.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | C. Michael Hogan, C. Michael Hogan |
Source | No source database. |
Smooth cordgrass is a native species critical to Barrier Island and wetland restoration along the southeastern coastal states, while it is introduced into areas on the Pacific coast, where has become an aggressive invasive species. Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values.
Isotype for Spartina glabra var. pilosa Merr.
Catalog Number: US 81736
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): F. L. Scribner
Year Collected: 1895
Locality: Atlantic City., Atlantic, New Jersey, United States, North America
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2110343 |