grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north-western and southern Africa, the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
and the islands of the southern Atlantic Ocean; one or two species also occur on the western coast of North America and in
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
habitats inland in the Americas. The highest species diversity is on the east coasts of North and South America, particularly Florida. They form large, often dense colonies, particularly on coastal salt marshes, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will produce hybrids if they come into contact.
Taxonomy
In 2014, the taxon ''Spartina'' was subsumed into the genus '' Sporobolus'' and reassigned to the taxonomic status of section,Peterson, PM, et al (2014) A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification of ''Sporobolus'' (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Sporobolinae), Taxon 63: 1212-1243. but it is may still be possible to see ''Spartina'' referred to as an accepted genus. In 2019, an interdisciplinary team of experts from all continents (except for Antarctica) coauthored a report published in the journal ''Ecology'' supporting ''Spartina'' as a genus.Bortolus, A, P Adam, JB Adams, ML Ainouche, D Ayres, MD Bertness, TJ Bouma, JF Bruno, I Caçador, JT Carlton, JM Castillo, CSB Costa, AJ Davy, L Deegan, B Duarte, E Figueroa, J Gerwein, AJ Gray, ED Grosholz, SD Hacker, AR Hughes, E Mateos-Naranjo, IA Mendelssohn, JT Morris, AF Muñoz-Rodríguez, FJJ Nieva, LA Levin, B Li, W Liu, SC Pennings, A Pickart, S Redondo-Gómez, DM Richardson, A Salmon, E Schwindt, BR Silliman, EE Sotka, C Stace, M Sytsma, S Temmerman, RE Turner, I Valiela, MP Weinstein, and JS Weis. (2019) Supporting ''Spartina'': Interdisciplinary perspective shows ''Spartina'' as a distinct solid genus. ''Ecology'', 100(11), 2019, e02863.
The section name ''Spartina'' is derived from (), the Greek word for a cord made from Spanish broom ('' Spartium junceum'').
Species
The following species are recognised in the section ''Spartina'':
;Subsection ''Alterniflori'' P.M.Peterson & Saarela
* '' Sporobolus alterniflorus'' – smooth cordgrass – Atlantic coasts of North and South America, West Indies
* '' Sporobolus anglicus'' (C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela - Great Britain, introduced to Europe, China, Australia, New Zealand, and North America
* ''
Sporobolus foliosus
''Sporobolus foliosus'' is a species of grass known by the common name California cordgrass. It was reclassified from ''Spartina foliosa'' after a taxonomic revision in 2014. It is native to the salt marshes and mudflats of coastal California and ...
'' – California cordgrass – California, Baja California, Baja California Sur
* ''
Sporobolus longispicus
''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...
'' – Argentina, Uruguay
* ''
Sporobolus maritimus
''Sporobolus maritimus'', or synonymously as ''Spartina maritima'', the small cordgrass, is a species of cordgrass native to the coasts of western and southern Europe and western Africa, from the Netherlands west across southern England to southe ...
'' (Curtis) P.M.Peterson & Saarela - Europe, Africa
* ''
Sporobolus × townsendii
''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...
'' – Townsend's cordgrass – western Europe
;Subsection ''Ponceletia'' (Thouars) P.M.Peterson & Saarela
* '' Sporobolus arundinacea'' (Thouars) Carmich – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean
* '' Sporobolus mobberleyanus'' P.M.Peterson & Saarela – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean
* ''
Sporobolus spartinae
''Sporobolus spartinae'' is a species of grass known by the common names gulf cordgrass and sacahuista. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs from the Gulf Coast of the United States south to Argentina.Sporobolus bakeri'' – sand cordgrass – south-eastern US
* '' Sporobolus coarctatus'' – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay
* ''
Sporobolus cynosuroides
''Sporobolus cynosuroides'' is a species of grass known by the common names big cordgrass and salt reedgrass. It is native to the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States, where it grows in coastal habitat such as marshes, lagoons, and bay ...
'' – big cordgrass – eastern US (TX to MA); Bahamas
* '' Sporobolus × eatonianus'' – eastern North America
* ''
Sporobolus hookerianus
''Sporobolus hookerianus'' is a species of grass known by the common name alkali cordgrass.
Distribution
It is native to western North America from north-western Canada through the western United States and eastern California, and into central M ...
'' – alkali cordgrass – western Canada, western + central US, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Michoacán
* ''
Sporobolus michauxianus
''Sporobolus michauxianus'' is a species of cordgrass known as prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass, tall marshgrass, and sloughgrass. It is native to much of North America, including central and eastern Canada and most of the contiguous Unite ...
'' – prairie cordgrass – from Northwest Territories to Texas and Newfoundland
* '' Sporobolus montevidensis'' – denseflower cordgrass – Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile
* ''
Sporobolus pumilus
''Sporobolus pumilus'', the saltmeadow cordgrass, also known as salt hay, is a species of cordgrass native to the Atlantic coast of the Americas, from Newfoundland south along the eastern United States to the Caribbean and north-eastern Mexico. I ...
'' – saltmeadow cordgrass – east coast of North America from Labrador to Tamaulipas; West Indies
* ''
Sporobolus versicolor
''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...
'' – Mediterranean, Azores
Ecology
Species of the section ''Spartina'' are used as food plants by the
larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
of some
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
species including the
Aaron's skipper
''Poanes aaroni'', the saffron skipper, is a North American butterfly from the skipper (butterfly), skipper family (Hesperiidae) which occurs in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast.
The upperside of the wings are vivid orange, with broad blac ...
, which feeds exclusively on
smooth cordgrass
''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...
, and the engrailed moth.
Some species of the section ''Spartina'' are considered as ecosystem engineers that can strongly influence the physical and biological environment.Li, B. et al (2009) ''Spartina alterniflora'' invasions in the Yangtze River estuary, China: An overview of current status and ecosystem effects, Ecol. Eng. 35: 511-520.Balke, T. et al (2012) Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: A case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer ''Spartina anglica'', Geomorphology 153-154: 232-238. This is particularly important in areas where invasive ''Spartina'' species significantly alter their new environment, with impacts to native plants and animals.Strong, D.R., & Ayres, D.R. (2013) Ecological and Evolutionary Misadventures of ''Spartina'', Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 44:389-410.
As an invasive species
Three of the ''Spartina'' species have become invasive plants in some countries. In British Columbia, ''Sporobolus anglica'', also known as English cordgrass, is an aggressive, aquatic alien that invades mud flats, salt marshes and beaches, out-competing native plants, spreading quickly over mud flats and leaving large ''Spartina'' meadows. It is also invasive in China and California.
''Sporobolus montevidensis'' and ''Sporobolus pumilus'' have become invasive on the Iberian Peninsula and the west coast of the United StatesD. G. SanLeón, J. Izco & J. M. Sánchez (1999). Joseph Caffrey; Philip R. F. Barrett; Maria Teresa Ferreira; Ilidio S. Moreira; Kevin J. Murphy; Philip Max Wade, eds. "Biology, Ecology and Management of Aquatic Plants". Hydrobiologia. ''Developments in Hydrobiology'', Vol. 147. 415: 213–222. doi:10.1023/A:1003835201167. .Oregon Department of Agriculture, Noxious Weeds https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/weeds/pages/aboutweeds.aspx
''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' and its hybrids with other ''Spartina'' species are invasive in numerous locations around the globe, including China, California, England, France, and Spain.Ainouche, M.L., et al (2009) Hybridization, polyploidy and invasion: lessons from ''Spartina'' (Poaceae), ''Biol. Invasions'' 11: 1159-1173.
Cultivation
Species of the section ''Spartina'' have been planted to reclaim
estuarine
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
for livestock, and to prevent erosion. Various members of the genus (especially ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' and its derivatives, ''Sporobolus anglicus'' and ''Sporobolus × townsendii'') have spread outside of their native boundaries and become
invasive
Invasive may refer to:
*Invasive (medical) procedure
*Invasive species
*Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance
*Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...
.
Big cordgrass (''S. cynosuroides'') is used in the construction of bull's eye targets for sports archery. A properly constructed target can stop an arrow safely without damage to the arrowhead as it lodges in the target.