Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Spartina patens
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Cordgrass from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The recognition of the genus Spartina is controversial following the work of Peterson et al. (2014), which shows Spartina as derived from within Sporobolus. For now and awaiting further study and potential taxonomic changes, we retain an apparently paraphyletic Sporobolus and recognize Spartina, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spartina patens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sporobolus pumilus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Spartina patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Spartina patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-58-001:
Spartina patens FAMILY Poaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Spartina patens var. monogyna
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Spartina patens var. patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Spartina patens
COMMON NAME:
Small Saltmeadow Cordgrass, Salt Hay, Marsh-hay Cordgrass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sppa_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_sppa_002_lvd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Spartina patens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spartina patens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sporobolus pumilus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Spartina patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Spartina patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-58-001:
Spartina patens
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Spartina patens var. monogyna
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Spartina patens var. patens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Spartina patens
4808
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: dunes, sand flats, upper edges of tidal marshes, maritime wet grasslands, overwash flats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomes elongate; plants forming large clonal patches
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Inflorescence an array of spikes
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".