Species
Spartina alterniflora
Common Name(s)
American spartina
Authority
Spartina alterniflora Loisel.
Family
Poaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
SPAALT
The
National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Structural Class
Grasses
Habitat
Aquatic: Emergent. Saline. Estuaries, mangroves and other intertidal zones with soft sediment.
Features
Robust perennial clump forming grass to 1m with thick fleshy, far-creeping rhizomes, forming open clumps. Culm erect, 8-30mm diam. near base, incl. closely ensheathing leaves. leaves 8-45cm x 6-15mm, persistent, coriaceous, flat, glabrous, adaxially ribbed, much narrowed to fine hard tip. Flowers rarely seen.
Similar Taxa
Can be distinguished from other Spartina species by the rather open clumps, large shoots (8-30 mm diameter), occasional plants flowering, and on those that do, the spikelets is not hairy.
Flowering
N/A
Year Naturalised
1965
Origin
N. America
Reason For Introduction
Agricultural
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial. Flowers are hardly ever seen (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Reproduction
Vegetative reproduction from underground rhizomes (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Seed
Seed is not produced (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Dispersal
Rhizome fragments survive digging, dropped pieces resprout.
Tolerances
The plant is intolerant to shade and drought; tolerant to poor drainage and highly tolerant of salt. Physical damage and grazing result in the resprouting of underground rhizomes (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
This page last updated on 27 May 2010