Burke: Spartina foliosa vs. Spartina pectinata

	Spartina foliosa	Spartina pectinata
		freshwater cordgrass, prairie cordgrass
Habit		Strongly rhizomatous perennial, the culms 8-15 dm. tall, smooth and hollow.
Leaves		Sheaths open, throat hairy only at the top; ligules 2-3 mm. long, composed chiefly of a fringe of fine, straight hairs; blades involute, at least 5 mm. broad at the base.
Flowers		Inflorescence of several to many spikes, erect, not crowded, 4-9 cm. long, arranged in a raceme; spikelets 1-flowered, articulate below the glumes, borne in two rows on one side of the rachis, closely crowded; glumes scabrous, the first very narrow, about 6.5 mm. long including the awn tip, the second exceeding the floret, 8-9 mm. long exclusive of the stout awn 2-4 mm. long; lemma keeled, 1-nerved, about 8 mm. long, shorter than the delicate, 2-nerved palea.

	Spartina foliosa	Spartina pectinata
Flowering time		June-August
Habitat		Ditches, ponds, and freshwater marshes.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; northern Washington to Oregon, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
Conservation status		Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	S. alterniflora, S. anglica, S. densiflora, S. gracilis, S. patens, S. pectinata, S. ×townsendii	S. alterniflora, S. anglica, S. densiflora, S. gracilis, S. patens, S. ×townsendii
Web links	Local floras: CA 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	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: 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

Spartina foliosa

Spartina pectinata

freshwater cordgrass, prairie cordgrass

Habit

Strongly rhizomatous perennial, the culms 8-15 dm. tall, smooth and hollow.

Leaves

Sheaths open, throat hairy only at the top;

ligules 2-3 mm. long, composed chiefly of a fringe of fine, straight hairs;

blades involute, at least 5 mm. broad at the base.

Flowers

Inflorescence of several to many spikes, erect, not crowded, 4-9 cm. long, arranged in a raceme;

spikelets 1-flowered, articulate below the glumes, borne in two rows on one side of the rachis, closely crowded;

glumes scabrous, the first very narrow, about 6.5 mm. long including the awn tip, the second exceeding the floret, 8-9 mm. long exclusive of the stout awn 2-4 mm. long;

lemma keeled, 1-nerved, about 8 mm. long, shorter than the delicate, 2-nerved palea.