Burke: Distichlis spicata vs. Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae

	Distichlis spicata	Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae
	alkaline grass, coastal salt grass
Habit	Dioecious perennials from extensive rhizomes, the culms solid, 10-40 cm. tall, sometimes decumbent and stolonous.
Leaves	Sheaths open, glabrous; ligules about 0.5 mm. long; blades involute, 2-4 mm. broad, usually glabrous, stiff and sharp-pointed.
Flowers	Inflorescence a compact panicle 3-8 cm. long; staminate spikelets yellowish, 7- to 16-flowered, strongly compressed; pistillate spikelets greenish, 5- to 9-flowered; first glume 2-2.5 mm. long, the second 1 mm. longer; staminate lemmas membranous, about 6 mm. long, the pistillate lemmas harder and shorter; paleas slightly shorter, with a winged keel 0.1 mm. broad.

	Distichlis spicata	Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae
Flowering time	June-September
Habitat	Coastal beaches, salt marshes, and inland areas where alkaline.
Distribution	Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south to California; also along the east coast of the United States from Canada to Florida and Texas. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Google search

Distichlis spicata

Poaceae tribe Cynodonteae

alkaline grass, coastal salt grass

Habit

Dioecious perennials from extensive rhizomes, the culms solid, 10-40 cm. tall, sometimes decumbent and stolonous.

Leaves

Sheaths open, glabrous;

ligules about 0.5 mm. long;

blades involute, 2-4 mm. broad, usually glabrous, stiff and sharp-pointed.

Flowers

Inflorescence a compact panicle 3-8 cm. long; staminate spikelets yellowish, 7- to 16-flowered, strongly compressed; pistillate spikelets greenish, 5- to 9-flowered; first glume 2-2.5 mm. long, the second 1 mm. longer; staminate lemmas membranous, about 6 mm. long, the pistillate lemmas harder and shorter;

paleas slightly shorter, with a winged keel 0.1 mm. broad.