dcsimg
Image of Shore Grass
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Shore Grass

Distichlis littoralis (Engelm.) H. L. Bell & Columbus

Physical Description

provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stolons or runners present, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes ho llow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades very short, 0.5-2 cm long, Leaf blades subulate, needle-like, tip pungent, Leaf blades very narrow or filiform, less than 2 mm wide, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Ligule present, Ligule a fringe of hairs, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence a single spikelet, Flowers unisexual, Plants dioecious, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Inflorescence or spikelets partially hidden in leaf sheaths, subtended by spatheole, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelets with 3-7 florets, Spi kelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets unisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Glumes completely absent or reduced to cuplike structure, Lemma coriaceous, firmer or thicker in texture than the glumes, Lemma 8-15 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex acute or acuminate, Lemma awnless, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea about equal to lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Palea keels winged, scabrous, or ciliate, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.
license
cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
compiler
Dr. David Bogler
source
Missouri Botanical Garden
source
USDA NRCS NPDC
original
visit source
partner site
USDA PLANTS text

Environment

provided by World Register of Marine Species
found in upper intertidal salt marsh

Reference

Zedler, J. B. (1980). Algal Mat Productivity: Comparisons in a Salt Marsh. Estuaries. 3(2): 122-131.

license
cc-by-4.0
copyright
WoRMS Editorial Board
contributor
[email]