Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Poaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Perennial herb with slender, wiry rhizomes; culms 0.7-2 m tall. Leaf ligules 0.5-1 mm long; blades 15-60 x 0.1-0.5 cm, glabrous below and scabrous above, the apex acuminate. Inflorescences 3-15 x 0.4-8 cm; spikes 2-15, 1-7 cm long, ascending and appressed to loosely spreading, sessile or occasionally pedunculate. Spikelets 10-30 per spike, 7-12 mm long, tightly appressed, closely imbricate; glumes glabrous to sparingly hispidulous, the keels hispid; lower glumes 3-8 mm long, linear; upper glumes 7-12 mm long, linear-lanceolate; lemma 5.5-8.5 mm long, lanceolate, glabrous to sparingly hispidulous, the apex obtuse to irregularly lobed; palea longer than the lemma, thin and papery, glabrous; anthers 3-5 mm long.

    Distribution and Ecology - Occasional on sandy beaches. Caneel Bay (W177), Solomon Bay (A2285). Also on St. Croix; eastern North America to the Caribbean, introduced to Europe

  • Discussion

    Note: Not known to flower on St. John