Distichlis spicata

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Family:	POACEAE
Species:	Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
Common Name:	Saltgrass; Coastal Saltgrass
Habitat:	Brackish marshes.
Associated Ecological Communities:	**
Growth Habit:	Herb
Duration:	Perennial
Category:	Vascular
USDA Symbol:	**
Plant Notes:	Saltgrass is a native herbaceous perennial in the Grass family (Poaceae). It occurs in coastal areas of Baldwin and Mobile Counties. Saltgrass is very salt tolerant and grows on dunes, in brackish and salt marshes, and in disturbed coastal habitats. It is a warm season carpet grass with long scaly rhizomes and sometimes stolons. The roots and rhizomes have continuous air cavities than run their length from the leaf sheaths, allowing for gas exchange in the roots when they are inundated. Saltgrass culms are erect to decumbent, solid, wiry, and vary from 1-3 feet in height. The leaves are 1-5 inches in length, linear in outline, flat, and evenly distributed along the culm. Flowers are produced in congested panicles. Saltgrass is dioecious, with separate male and female individuals. The panicles have 2 to 20 green or purple-tinted spikelets. The staminate panicles are larger, longer, and denser than the female panicles. The fruit is a grain. Saltgrass is able to take up saltwater and extrude the excess salt from special 2-celled salt glands along the leaves. This salt dries and often encrusts the leaves. It has served as a source of salt for Native Americans who harvested it by scraping the leaves. Saltgrass seeds and rhizomes provide an important food source for waterfowl, and it has been grown as a forage grass on saline soils. Saltgrass serves as an important source of food and cover for both fish and crustaceans in marshes, and its dense rhizomes help to stabilize shorelines.—A. Diamond.
Taxonomic Notes:	**
Status:	Native, FACW+ (NWI)
References:	**
Specimen:	View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

Family	POACEAE - Grass family
Genus	Distichlis
Species	Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene - Saltgrass; Coastal Saltgrass

Citation

Citation	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2(7C): 415. 1887.
Basionym:	Uniola spicata L. 1753.
Type:	Without data, Kalm s.n. (lectotype: LINN 89.4). Lectotypified by Hitchcock in Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 12 : 121. 1908.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

Synonym	Full Citation	Basionym	Type
	Uniola multiflora Nuttall, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., ser. 2. 5: 148. 1837.		ARKANSAS
Agropyrum peruvianum	Agropyron peruvianum (Lamarck) Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 761. 1817.	Triticum peruvianum Lamarck 1791.
Briza spicata	Briza spicata (Linnaeus) Lamarck, Encycl. 1: 465. 1785.	Uniola spicata Linnaeus 1753.
Brizopyrum boreale	Brizopyrum boreale J. Presl, in C. Presl, Reliq. Haenk. 1: 280. 1830.		CANADA: British Columbia: Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, s.d., Haenke s.n. (holotype: PR; isotype: MO).
Brizopyrum ovatum	Brizopyrum ovatum Nees von Esenbeck ex Steudel, Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 282. 1854.		PERU [Chile?]: Without data, Cuming s.n. (holotype: P?).
Brizopyrum prostratum	Brizopyrum prostratum (Kunth) E. Fournier, Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 15: 474. 1876; Mexic. Pl. 2: 120. 1886.	Poa prostrata Kunth 1816.
Brizopyrum prostratum var. erectum	Brizopyrum prostratum (Kunth) Bentham ex E. Fournier, var. erectum E. Fournier, Mexic. Pl. 2: 120. 1886.		MEXICO
Brizopyrum prostratum var. humile	Brizopyrum prostratum (Kunth) Bentham ex E. Fournier, var. humile E. Fournier, Mexic. Pl. 2: 120. 1886.		MEXICO
Brizopyrum spicatum	Brizopyrum spicatum (Linnaeus) Hooker & Arnott, Bot. Beechey Voy. 403. 1841.	Uniola spicata Linnaeus 1753.
Brizopyrum spicatum var. strictum	Brizopyrum spicatum (Linnaeus) Hooker & Arnott, var. strictum (Torrey) A. Gray ex S. Watson, Bot. Fortieth Parallel 385. 1871.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Brizopyrum thalassicum	Brizopyrum thalassicum (Kunth) Nees von Esenbeck, Nov. Actorum Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Cur. 1: 29. 1841.	Poa thalassica Kunth 1816.
Brizopyrum americanum	Brizopyrum americanum Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 160. 1826, nom. illegit.	Uniola spicata Linnaeus 1753.
Distichlis araucana	Distichlis araucana Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 94: 162. 1896.		CHILE
Distichlis dentata	Distichlis dentata Rydberg, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 536. 1909.		WASHINGTON: Without data, 1893, Sandberg & Leiberg 463 (holotype: NY; isotypes: NY, US).
Distichlis deserticola	Distichlis deserticola Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 36: 209. 1870.		CHILE: Atacama Desert, s.d., Philippi 407 (holotype: SGO?).
Distichlis distichophylla	Distichlis distichophylla (Labillardiere) Fassett, Rhodora 27: 71. 1925.	Uniola distichophylla Labillardière 1804.
Distichlis hirsuta	Distichlis hirsuta Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 36: 209. 1870.		CHILE: Santiago,
Distichlis hirta	Distichlis hirta Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 48: 570. 1873.		CHILE: Los arenales de Llico y Vichuqen, s.d., Landbeck s.n. (holotype: SGO?).
Distichlis marginata	Distichlis marginata Philippi, Verz. Antofagasta Pfl. 86. 1891.		CHILE: Tarapaca (Antofagasta?): Ad Breas, s.d., Philippi s.n. (holotype: SGO?).
Distichlis marginata var. stricta	Distichlis marginata Philippi, var. stricta (Torrey) Thurber, Bot. California 2: 306. 1880.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Distichlis maritima	Distichlis maritima Rafinesque, J. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat. Arts 89: 104. 1819, nom. illegit.	Uniola spicata Linnaeus 1753.
Distichlis maritima var. stricta	Distichlis maritima Rafinesque, var. stricta (Torrey) Thurber, Bot. California 2: 306. 1880.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Distichlis mendocina	Distichlis mendocina Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 36: 209. 1870.		CHILE: Mendoza, s.d., Philippi s.n. (holotype: SGO?).
Distichlis nodosa	Distichlis nodosa Rafinesque, J. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat. Arts 89: 104. 1819, nom. illegit.	Festuca distichophylla Michaux 1803.
Distichlis prostrata	Distichlis prostrata (Kunth) E. Desvaux, in Gay, Fl. Chil. 6: 398. 1854 ("1853").	Poa prostrata Kunth 1816.
Distichlis spicata subsp. stricta	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, subsp. stricta (Torrey) Thorne, Aliso 9: 195. 1978.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Distichlis spicata var. andina	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. andina Beetle, Revista Argent. Agron. 22: 93. 1955.		BOLIVIA: La Paz: Guaqui, 6 Feb 1937, Parodi 10082 (holotype: BAA).
Distichlis spicata var. borealis	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. borealis (J. Presl) Beetle, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 643. 1943.	Brizopyrum boreale J. Presl 1830.
Distichlis spicata var. distichophylla	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. distichophylla (Michaux) Beetle, Rhodora 47: 148. 1945.	Festuca distichophylla Michaux 1803.
Distichlis spicata var. divaricata	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. divaricata Beetle, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 647. 1943.		CALIFORNIA: Riverside Co.: Salton, 1902, Davy s.n. (holotype: UC).
Distichlis spicata var. laxa	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. laxa Vasey ex Beal, Grass. N. Amer. 2: 519. 1896.		UTAH: Salt Lake Co.: Lake Park, 1887, Tracy s.n. (holotype: MSC?)
Distichlis spicata var. marginata	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. marginata (Philippi) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 350. 1898.	Distichlis marginata Philippi 1891.
Distichlis spicata var. mendocina	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. mendocina (Philippi) Hackel, in Stuckert, Anales Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires 6: 513. 1906.	Distichlis mendocina Philippi 1870.
Distichlis spicata var. mexicana	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. mexicana Beetle, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 648. 1943.		MEXICO: Durango
Distichlis spicata var. nana	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. nana Beetle, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 647. 1943.		CALIFORNIA: Tulare Co.: Whitaker Forest, 28 Jun 1928, Kennedy s.n. (holotype: AHUC).
Distichlis spicata var. stolonifera	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. stolonifera Beetle, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 644. 1943.		CALIFORNIA: Humboldt Co.: Near Ferndale, 30 Jul 1899, Davy & Blasdale 6202 (holotype: UC).
Distichlis spicata var. stricta	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. stricta (Torrey) Lamson-Scribner, Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 5(4): 51. 1894.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Distichlis spicata var. thalassica	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. thalassica (Kunth) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 350. 1898.	Poa thalassica Kunth 1816.
Distichlis stricta	Distichlis stricta (Torrey) Rydberg, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 32: 602. 1905.	Uniola stricta Torrey 1824.
Distichlis stricta var. dentata	Distichlis stricta (Torrey) E. Desvaux, var. dentata (Rydberg) C. L. Hitchcock, Vasc. Pl. Pacific NW 1: 553. 1969.	Distichlis dentata Rydberg 1909.
Distichlis stricta var. laxa	Distichlis stricta (Torrey) E. Desvaux, var. laxa (Vasey ex Beal) Fawcett & West ex Munz, Man. S. Calif. Bot. 52, 597. 1935.	Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene, var. laxa Vasey ex Beal 1896.
Distichlis tenuifolia	Distichlis tenuifolia Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 94: 162. 1896.		CHILE
Distichlis thalassica	Distichlis thalassica (Kunth) E. Desvaux, in Gay, Fl. Chil. 6: 397. 1854 ("1853")..	Poa thalassica Kunth 1816.
Distichlis thalassica var. mendocina	Distichlis thalassica (Kunth) E. Desvaux, var. mendocina (Philippi) Kurtz, Bol. Acad. Nat. Ci. 15: 521. 1897.	Distichlis mendocina Philippi 1870.
Distichlis thalassica var. pectinata	Distichlis thalassica (Kunth) E. Desvaux, var. pectinata Grisebach, Abh. Königl. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen 24: 291. 1879.		ARGENTINA/CHILE:
Distichlis viridis	Distichlis viridis Philippi, Anales Univ. Chile 94: 163. 1896.		CHILE
Festuca distichophylla	Festuca distichophylla (Labillardiere) Hooker f., Fl. Tasman. 2: 127. 1858, non Michaux 1803.	Uniola distichophylla Labillardière 1804.
Festuca distichophylla	Festuca distichophylla Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 67. 1803.		SOUTH CAROLINA: Without data, Michaux s.n. (holotype: P).
Festuca multiflora	Festuca multiflora Walter, Fl. Carol. 81. 1788.
Festuca triticoides	Festuca triticoides Lamarck, Tabl. Encycl. 1: 191. 1791.
Megastachya prostrata	Megastachya prostrata (Kunth) Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 590. 1817.	Poa prostrata Kunth 1816.
Megastachya thalassica	Megastachya thalassica (Kunth) Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 590. 1817.	Poa thalassica Kunth 1816.
Poa borealis	Poa borealis (J. Presl) Kunth, Revis. Gramin., Suppl. 28. 1830.	Brizopyrum boreale J. Presl 1830.
Poa distichophylla	Poa distichophylla (Labillardière) R. Brown, Prodr. 182. 1810, non Gaudin 1808.	Uniola distichophylla Labillardière 1804.
Poa michauxii	Poa michauxii Kunth, Revis. Gramin. 111. 1829.	Festuca distichophylla Michaux 1803.
Poa paradoxa	Poa paradoxa Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 569. 1817.	Uniola distichophylla Labillardière 1804.
Poa prostrata	Poa prostrata Kunth, in Humboldt et al., Nov. Gen. Sp. 1: 157. 1816.		VENEZUELA: Monagas: Caripe, s.d., Humboldt & Bonpland 4161 (holotype: P; isotype: US(fragm)).
Poa thalassica	Poa thalassica Kunth, in Humboldt et al., Nov. Gen. Sp. 1: 157. 1816.		PERU: Lima: "prope ad Litus Oceani", Oct, Humboldt & Bonpland 3719 (holotype: P; isotype: US(fragm)).
Triticum peruvianum	Triticum peruvianum Lamarck, Tabl. Encycl. 1: 212. 1791.		PERU
Uniola distichophylla	Uniola distichophylla Labillardière, Nov. Holl. Pl. 1: 21, t. 24. 1804.		AUSTRALIA: Tasmania:
Uniola distichophylla	Uniola distichophylla (Michaux) Roemer & Schultes, Syst. Veg. 2: 596. 1817.	Festuca distichophylla Michaux 1803.
Uniola flexuosa	Uniola flexuosa Buckley, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 99. 1862.		TEXAS: On the Brazos at Fort Belknap, s.d., Buckley s.n. (lectotype: PH). Lectotypified by Hitchcock, Man. Grasses U.S. 838. 1935.
Uniola prostrata	Uniola prostrata (Kunth) Trinius, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Petersbourg, Ser. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. 4(2): 55. 1836.	Poa prostrata Kunth 1816.
Uniola spicata	Uniola spicata Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 71. 1753.		Without data, Kalm s.n. (lectotype: LINN 89.4). Lectotypified by Hitchcock, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 121. 1908.
Uniola stricta	Uniola stricta Torrey, Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1(1): 155. 1824.		OKLAHOMA: Shores of the Canadian River, s.d., Marcy Exped. s.n. (holotype: ?; isotype: LE(fragm)).
Uniola thalassica	Uniola thalassica (Kunth) Trinius, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Petersbourg, Ser. 6, Sci. Math. 1: 359. 1830.	Poa thalassica Kunth 1816.

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Baldwin, Mobile

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1965 - 1966

Barcode / Accession No.	County	Coll. Date	Collector & Collection No.	Herbarium & Herbarium Name Used
ALNHS00000215	Mobile	29 Aug 1998	Spaulding, Daniel D. 10412	ALNHS Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
UNA00003782	Mobile	26 Aug 1965	Deramus, Rebecca D684	UNA Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
AUA000016926	Mobile	11 Apr 1962	Rogers, Ken E.	AUA Distichlis Spicata (L.) Greene
UWAL0037717	Mobile	08 Nov 1975	LeLong, Michel G. 8892	UWAL Distichlis spicata L.
TROY000032406	Baldwin	02 Sep 2010	Diamond, Alvin R. 21548	TROY Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene
UWAL0043048	Baldwin	26 Sep 2008	Larsen, Harry S. 1647	UWAL Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
TROY000047236	Mobile	08 Nov 1975	Lelong, Michel G. 8892	TROY Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene
JSU101109	Mobile	29 Aug 1998	Spaulding, Daniel D. 10412	JSU Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene
UNA00003727	Mobile	s.d.	Mohr, Charles s.n.	UNA Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
UWAL0002768	Baldwin	02 Sep 2010	Diamond, Alvin R. 21548	UWAL Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene
TROY000030880	Mobile	04 Nov 1962	Rogers, Kenneth E. s.n.	TROY Distichlis spicata (Linnaeus) Greene
ALNHS00004347	Mobile	07 Sep 2016	Barger, T. Wayne SP#2468	ALNHS Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
UWAL0047600	Mobile	07 Sep 2016	Barger, T. Wayne SP#2468	UWAL Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
UNA00003717	Mobile	15 Aug 1966	Deramus, Rebecca D985	UNA Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene

View a List of All Ecological Communities

For more information, contact: Brian R. Keener, Ph.D.

Data last modified: 11/9/2024

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Citation Information:

Keener, B.R., A.R. Diamond, T.W. Barger, L.J. Davenport, P.G. Davison, S.L. Ginzbarg, C.J. Hansen, D.D. Spaulding, J.K. Triplett, and M. Woods. 2024. Alabama Plant Atlas. [S.M. Landry and K.N. Campbell (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama.

Data, text, and images licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Distichlis spicata

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Classification

Citation

Synonyms

Specimens and Distribution