Spartina patens

Spartina patens, or Salt meadow cordgrass, is found everywhere from coastal foredunes to the high salt marsh, where it is often the dominant monoculture.

The perennial grass may appear in isolated clumps or thrive in vast, waving fields up to 1.5 meters tall, spreading rapidly from its slender rhizomes. Because of its rapid establishment in disturbed locations, it is a mainstay of many coastal restoration efforts.

It’s native range extends along the East Coast from Newfoundland down across the Gulf of Mexico, where it is regarded as a keystone species. It provides shelter for wildlife and fends off aggressive exotics. On the West Coast, from California to Washington, however, it is considered invasive.

References

Lonard, R. I., Judd, F. W., & Stalter, R. (2010). The biological flora of coastal dunes and wetlands: Spartina patens (W. aiton) G.H. muhlenberg. Journal of Coastal Research, (265), 935-946.

Duncan, W. H., & Duncan, M. B. (1987). The Smithsonian guide to seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from Louisiana to Massachusetts, exclusive of lower peninsular Florida. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press.