Silt grass

Silt grass
	Smooth silt grass ( Spartina alterniflora )
Systematics
	Monocots
	Commelinids
Order :	Sweet grass (Poales)
Family :	Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Subfamily :	Chloridoideae
Genre :	Silt grass
Scientific name
	Spartina
	Schreb.

The silt grasses ( Spartina ) are a genus of plants within the sweet grass family (Poaceae).

description

Illustration of the lower silt grass ( Spartina maritima )

Salt mud grass ( Spartina anglica ) in the tidal area of the Wadden Sea

The silt grasses are strong, perennial herbaceous plants that reach heights of 0.3 and 2 meters. They form long branched rhizomes . The alternate leaves are relatively long and narrow. The annual inflorescence is composed of alternate, sessile spikelets .

Locations

The Spartina species are salt plants that predominantly occur on the coast of the sea , especially salt marshes .

Spartina gracilis

Systematics and distribution

The genus Spartina was established in 1789 by Johann Christian von Schreber . The generic name Spartina is of Greek origin from spárte for rope and means knitting or broom grass. Synonyms for Spartina Schreb. are: Chauvinia Steud. , Limnetis Rich. nom. superflat., Ponceletia Thouars nom. illeg., Psammophila Schult. , Solenachne Steud. , Trachynotia Michx. , Tristania Poir. nom. inval.

The genus Spartina belongs to the subfamily Chloridoideae within the Poaceae family .

Several species are common in North America and South America. Few species occur in Europe ( Spartina maritima , Spartina × townsendii , Spartina anglica ) and along the west coast of Africa .

There are about 18 Spartina species and hybrids:

Smooth silt grass ( Spartina alterniflora Loisel .; Syn .: Spartina merrillii A. Chevalier ): The wide distribution area extends from Canada to Mexico and from the Lesser Antilles to Argentina .
Salt siltgrass , English siltgrass ( Spartina anglica C.E. Hubb. ): The home is Great Britain .
Spartina arundinacea (Thouars) Carmich. : The home is Tristan da Cunha and the Amsterdam Island .
Spartina bakeri Merr. : The home is the southeast USA to Texas .
Spartina × caespitosa Eaton = Spartina patens × Spartina pectinata : This nature hybrid is common in eastern Canada and the eastern USA.
Spartina ciliata Brongn. : It is common in Brazil , Uruguay and northeast Argentina.
Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth : It is distributed from the eastern USA and to northeast Mexico.
Spartina densiflora Brongn. ex Beer : It is common in Venezuela, Brazil and in southern South America.
Spartina foliosa Trin. : It iswidespreadfrom California and into northern Mexico.
Spartina gracilis Trin. : It is widespread from Canada through the USA to northern Mexico.
Lower silt grass ( Spartina maritima (Curt.) Fernald , Syn .: Spartina stricta (Ait.) Roth , Spartina capensis Nees , Spartina schreberi J.F.Gmel. ): It is widespread in Europe , Morocco and southern Africa .
Spartina patens (Ait.) Mühl. : The home is Canada, the USA, northern Mexico and the Caribbean.
Spartina pectinata Link. : It is widespread from Canada to the USA and is a neophyte in Australia, for example.
Spartina spartinae (Trin.) Merr. ex AS Hitchc. (Syn .: Spartina argentinensis Parodi ): The distribution area extends from the southeastern USA to Venezuela and the Bahamas and from Paraguay to northeastern Argentina.
Spartina × townsendii H.Groves & J.Groves = Spartina alterniflora × Spartina maritima : natural hybrids
Spartina versicolor Fabre : The home is the Azores and the western and central Mediterranean area .

use

Several species were grown for floodplain elevation and land reclamation . The species that often dominated salt marshes were used as fodder ( grazing and haymaking ). Some species were also used for roofing .

literature

Ingo Kowarik : Biological Invasions - Neophytes and Neozoa in Central Europe . 2nd, significantly expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8001-5889-8

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Spartina in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Spartina. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved December 18, 2014.
^ NCBI National Taxonomy Browser .

Web links

Commons : Schlickgräser ( Spartina ) - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Description of the genus in L. Watson, MJ Dallwitz: The Grass Genera of the World ; DELTA

[GRIN-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Spartina in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved December 18, 2014.

[WCSP-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Spartina. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved December 18, 2014.

[3] NCBI National Taxonomy Browser .