''Triglochin maritima'' is a species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family
Juncaginaceae
Juncaginaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, recognized by most taxonomists for the past few decades. It is also known as the ''arrowgrass'' family. It includes 3 genera with a total of 34 known species (Christenhusz & Byng 2 ...
. It is found in brackish marshes, freshwater marshes, wet sandy beaches,
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...
s, damp grassland and bogs. It has a
circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisphere. In the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
it is common on the coast, but very rare inland.
Description
It is similar to
marsh arrowgrass (''Triglochin palustris'') but has the following differences: it has
stolons
In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...
, is stouter. The leaves are fleshy and not furrowed above. It is not very aromatic. The
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
are more dense and like
sea plantain. The flowers are fleshier.
[C. Dwight Marsh, A. B. Clawson, and G. C. Roe Jr (1929). ]
Arrow grass as a Stock-Poisoning Plant
'' United States Department of Agriculture. The fruits are oval, 4 mm long, 2 mm wide.
It varies in height from . It flowers in May to August; flowers are greenish, 3 petalled, edged with purple, across, in a long spike.
Common names include seaside arrowgrass, common arrowgrass, sea arrowgrass and shore arrowgrass.
It can be an
annual
Annual may refer to:
* Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
** Literary annual
* Annual plant
* Annual report
* Annual giving
* Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
* Annuals (b ...
or
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 ...
.
''Triglochin concinna'' is a synonym of this species.
This plant is toxic, as it can produce
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
. This species has been known to cause losses in cattle, with green leaves being more toxic than dried material.
References
Juncaginaceae
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Brackish water plants
Freshwater plants
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