Spartina gracilis
Encyclopedia
Spartina gracilis is a species of grass
known by the common name alkali cordgrass. It is native to western North America from northwestern Canada through the western United States and eastern California
, and into central Mexico. It grows in moist alkaline habitat, such as evaporating streams and shorelines, alkali flat
s, and inland marsh
es.
It is a perennial grass growing from short rhizome
s. It produces usually single, slender stems reaching a meter in maximum height. The leaves are flat and ridged, and may roll in when new. The inflorescence
is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The branches are lined with spikelets.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name alkali cordgrass. It is native to western North America from northwestern Canada through the western United States and eastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and into central Mexico. It grows in moist alkaline habitat, such as evaporating streams and shorelines, alkali flat
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
s, and inland marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es.
It is a perennial grass growing from short rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. It produces usually single, slender stems reaching a meter in maximum height. The leaves are flat and ridged, and may roll in when new. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The branches are lined with spikelets.