''Distichlis palmeri'' is an

obligate {{wiktionary, obligate As an adjective, obligate means "by necessity" (antonym ''facultative'') and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as: * Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen * Obligate anaerobe, an organism that ...

emergent (it has

aerenchyma Aerenchyma or aeriferous parenchyma or lacunae, is a modification of the parenchyma to form a spongy tissue that creates spaces or air channels in the leaves, stems and roots of some plants, which allows exchange of gases between the shoot and t ...

)

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

halophytic A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. T ...

C4 grass in the Poacea (Gramineae) family. ''D. palmeri'' is a saltwater marsh grass endemic to the tidal marshes of the northern part of The

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

and Islands section of th
Sonoran Desert
''D.'' ''palmeri'' is not

drought tolerant Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detox ...

. It does withstand surface drying between supra tidal events because roots extend downward to more than 1 meter (3 feet) where coastal substrata is still moist. Culms (stalks) are generally rigid and upright to about 60 cm (2 feet) and have short

internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

. Longer culms become recumbent (lay down) developing young vertical culms from the nodes. These young culms may root. Acicular to linear leaves are upright and positioned alternate along the culm at nodes. Leaves excrete salts through specialized

salt gland The salt gland is an organ for excreting excess salts. It is found in the cartilaginous fishes subclass elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, and skates), seabirds, and some reptiles. Salt glands can be found in the rectum of sharks. Birds and reptile ...

s that are a component of ''D. palmeri'' leaf anatomy. These excreted surface salts are wicked away by breezes. Insects of the

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

family visit the plant. When D. palmer is maintained in a greenhouse, it is susceptible to

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

infestation.

Anemophilous Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. Other common anemophilous plan ...

flowers emerge late winter. At

anthesis Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period. The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...

, males liberate light

chartreuse Chartreuse () may refer to: Food and drink * Chartreuse (liqueur), a French liqueur * Chartreuse (dish), a French dish of vegetables or meat tightly wrapped in vegetable leaves and cooked in a mould Religion * Carthusians, a Catholic religi ...

colored pollen in breezes. Female flowers are

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of alternate

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

s that present lavender colored styles and stigmas. Kernels (

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s) are mature in early spring. Each panicle produces 20-30 mature caryopses. Kernels are similar to those of

farro Farro refers to the grains of three wheat species, which are sold dried and cooked in water until soft. It is eaten plain or is often used as an ingredient in salads, soups, and other dishes. Definition Farro is an ethnobotanical term for thr ...

in color and size. Kernels of ''Distichlis palmeri'' have an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

history as a wild harvest grain (Nipa) consumed by the

Cocopah The Cocopah ( Cocopah: Xawitt Kwñchawaay) are Native Americans who live in Baja California, Mexico, and Arizona, United States. In the United States, Cocopah people belong to the federally recognized Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. Name The C ...

. Nipa grain has size, nutritional value and flavor qualities similar to other cropped

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

s. In the last four decades, Nipa grain production through saline agriculture (agriculture that uses saline resources to farm halophytic

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

s) of ''D. palmeri'' has been the subject of domestication studies. In addition to research studies working to domesticate ''D''. ''palmeri'', ''D. palmeri'' has been used to manage farm drainage and proposed as a constructive use plant in remediation of saline and biosaline wastewaters and land. ''Distichlis palmeri'' has character to thrive within effects of our changing climate; in open hot full sun on saline irrigation in

subtropic The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

zones, hence, it can be cropped along warming and rising coastlines. and is an active candidate for (bio)saline agriculture and cash crop development of Nipa grain, making it a prospective new crop for the 21st century.

References

External links

Herbarium photos at SERNEC
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5282938 Halophytes