Spartina is agenus of plants in thegrass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes.[3] Species in this genus are commonly known ascordgrass orcord-grass,[4] and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north-western and southern Africa, theAmericas and the islands of the southern Atlantic Ocean; one or two species also occur on the western coast of North America and infreshwater habitats inland in the Americas. The highest species diversity is on the east coasts of North and South America, particularlyFlorida. They form large, often densecolonies, particularly on coastalsalt marshes, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will producehybrids if they come into contact.
In 2014, the taxonSpartina was subsumed into the genusSporobolus and reassigned to the taxonomic status ofsection,[5] but it may still be possible to seeSpartina referred to as an accepted genus. In 2019, an interdisciplinary team of experts from all continents (except for Antarctica) coauthored a report published in the journalEcology supportingSpartina as a genus.[6]
The section nameSpartina is derived fromσπαρτίνη (spartínē), theGreek word for a cord made from Spanish broom (Spartium junceum).[7]
Sporobolus arundinacea(Thouars) Carmich – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean
Sporobolus mobberleyanus P.M.Peterson & Saarela – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean
Sporobolus spartinae(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela – Gulf cordgrass – Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Argentina, incl the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico
Some species of the sectionSpartina are considered as ecosystem engineers that can strongly influence the physical and biological environment.[8][9] This is particularly important in areas where invasiveSpartina species significantly alter their new environment, with impacts to native plants and animals.[10]
Three of theSpartina species have becomeinvasive plants in some countries. InBritish Columbia,Sporobolus anglica, also known as English cordgrass, is an aggressive, aquatic alien that invades mud flats, salt marshes and beaches, out-competing native plants, spreading quickly over mud flats and leaving largeSpartina meadows.[11] It is also invasive in China and California.[10]
Sporobolus montevidensis andSporobolus pumilus have become invasive on the Iberian Peninsula and the west coast of the United States[10][12][13]
Sporobolus alterniflorus and its hybrids with otherSpartina species are invasive in numerous locations around the globe, including China, California, England, France, and Spain.[10][14]
Species of the sectionSpartina have been planted to reclaimestuarine areas forfarming, to supplyfodder forlivestock, and to preventerosion. Various members of the genus (especiallySporobolus alterniflorus and its derivatives,Sporobolus anglicus andSporobolus × townsendii) have spread outside of their native boundaries and becomeinvasive.
Big cordgrass (S. cynosuroides) is used in the construction of bull's eye targets for sports archery. A properly constructed target can stop an arrow safely without damage to the arrowhead as it lodges in the target.[15]
^Schreber, Johann Christian Daniel von. 1789. Genera Plantarum Eorumque Characteres Naturales Secundum Numerum, Figuram, Situm, & Proportionem Omnium Fructificationis Partium. (Ed. 8[a]). 43
^abPeterson, PM, et al (2014) A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification ofSporobolus (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Sporobolinae), Taxon 63: 1212-1243.
^Bortolus, A, P Adam, JB Adams, ML Ainouche, D Ayres, MD Bertness, TJ Bouma, JF Bruno, I Caçador, JT Carlton, JM Castillo, CSB Costa, AJ Davy, L Deegan, B Duarte, E Figueroa, J Gerwein, AJ Gray, ED Grosholz, SD Hacker, AR Hughes, E Mateos-Naranjo, IA Mendelssohn, JT Morris, AF Muñoz-Rodríguez, FJJ Nieva, LA Levin, B Li, W Liu, SC Pennings, A Pickart, S Redondo-Gómez, DM Richardson, A Salmon, E Schwindt, BR Silliman, EE Sotka, C Stace, M Sytsma, S Temmerman, RE Turner, I Valiela, MP Weinstein, and JS Weis. (2019) SupportingSpartina: Interdisciplinary perspective showsSpartina as a distinct solid genus.Ecology, 100(11), 2019, e02863.doi:10.1002/ecy.2863.
^Barkworth, Mary E."17.45 SPARTINA Schreb".Intermountain Herbarium. Utah State University. Retrieved2013-11-30.
^Li, B. et al (2009)Spartina alterniflora invasions in the Yangtze River estuary, China: An overview of current status and ecosystem effects, Ecol. Eng. 35: 511-520.
^Balke, T. et al (2012) Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: A case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneerSpartina anglica, Geomorphology 153-154: 232-238.
^D. G. SanLeón, J. Izco & J. M. Sánchez (1999). Joseph Caffrey; Philip R. F. Barrett; Maria Teresa Ferreira; Ilidio S. Moreira; Kevin J. Murphy; Philip Max Wade, eds. "Biology, Ecology and Management of Aquatic Plants". Hydrobiologia.Developments in Hydrobiology, Vol. 147. 415: 213–222. doi:10.1023/A:1003835201167.ISBN978-90-481-5404-3.
