Spartina densiflora

Spartina densiflora
File:Spartina Desniflora Seed Heads.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Genus:	Spartina
Species:	S. densiflora
Binomial name
Spartina densiflora Brogn.

Spartina densiflora is a species of grass known by the common name denseflower cordgrass. It is native to the coastline of southern South America, where it is a resident of salt marshes. It is also known on the west coast of the North America and parts of the Mediterranean coast as an introduced species and in some areas a noxious weed. In California it is a troublesome invasive species of marshes in San Francisco Bay and in Humboldt Bay, where it was introduced during the 19th century from Chile in ballast.

Description

This perennial grass generally lacks rhizomes. It grows in erect clumps of slender stems that can reach 1.5 meters tall. The long, narrow, gray-green leaves are rolled inward, especially when new. The inflorescence is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 30 centimeters long. The flowers are colorless and the spikelets are tipped with bristles.

Invasive species

This plant has negative impacts on the salt marsh habitat of the California coast. It forms tight clumps of herbage that raise the elevation of the plants in the marsh, keeping the water from flowing in as far as it naturally would, and increasing sediment accumulation. It competes with its native relative, California cordgrass (Spartina foliosa), and other marsh plants such as pickleweed (Salicornia virginica).

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Washington Burke Museum
• Photo gallery