''Lygeum'' is a genus of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

plants in the

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 ...

. It is placed in its own tribe Lygeeae, which is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

Nardeae ''Nardus'' is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species ''Nardus stricta'', known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek ' () fro ...

. The only known species is ''Lygeum spartum'', commonly called esparto grass, cord grassAltervista Flora Italiana, genere ''Lygeum'', Sparto steppico, Esparto Grass
/ref> or albardine, which is distributed in arid areas around the Mediterranean Sea. It is similar to ''

Stipa tenacissima ''Stipa tenacissima'' (esparto, esparto grass, halfah grass, alfa grass, or needle grass) is a perennial grass of northwestern Africa and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Distribution ''Stipa tenacissima'' is an endemic species of th ...

''Garcı́a-Fuentes, A., et al. (2001)
Review of communities of ''Lygeum spartum'' L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean).
''Journal of Arid Environments'' 48(3), 323-39. and both species are used to produce a fiber product known as

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. ''Stipa tenacissima'' and ''Lygeum spartum ...

or esparto grass.Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards
''Lygeum''.
The Grass Genera of the World. DELTA – DEscription Language for TAxonomy. Version: 18 December 2012.

Description

''Lygeum spartum'' is a

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 ...

hermaphroditic, perennial grass growing up to tall.Clayton, W. D., et al. (2006 onwards)
''Lygeum''.
GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. The rhizome and the base of the stem are scaly.''Lygeum spartum''.
Flora of Pakistan. The leaves are threadlike but stiff and tough, measuring up to long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is made up of a few long-haired

spikelets 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 ...

each up to long. They are wrapped in a lance-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

called a spatheole. This sheath is long and can have a sharp point.

Distribution

''Lygeum spartinum'' is native to southern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, where its distribution includes

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

.''Lygeum spartum''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). It may have been introduced to

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

Habitat

Rocky sea shores, or on dry sandy or clay and often calcareous soil.

Uses

''Lygeum spartum'' fibres have high tensile strength and flexibility, and is used for making ropes, sandals, baskets, mats and other durable articles. They have also used in the manufacture of high quality paper. It can also be used locally as a fodder for livestock and to stabilise sand dunes and rehabilitate salt soils, due to its tolerance of saline conditions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3310865, from2=Q3890225, from3=Q5055327 Pooideae Monotypic Poaceae genera Flora of North Africa Fiber plants Flora of the Mediterranean Basin