The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

arrow-grass, common arrow-grass, saltmarsh arrow-grass, seaside arrow-grass, troscart maritime

Habit Plants with fibrous strands of old leaves at base, 3.5–61.5 cm.
Leaves

erect from sheath, mostly shorter than scape, 2.2–11.5 cm;

sheath 0.7–2.5 cm × 1–1.8 mm, ligule occasionally hoodlike, apically 2-lobed;

blade 0.9–1.4 mm wide, apex obtuse to round.

Inflorescences

scape often purple near base, mostly exceeding leaves, 1–16.5 cm × 0.5–1 mm;

racemes 6–45 cm × 1.5–7 mm;

pedicel 1–4 × 0.2–0.3 mm.

Flowers

tepals elliptic, 1.3–1.7 × 0.6–1.4 mm, apex acute;

pistils 6, all fertile.

Fruits

fruiting receptacle without wings;

schizocarps linear to near globose, 2–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm;

mericarps linear to linear-obovate, weakly ridged, 1.5–3.5 × 0.7–1 mm, beak erect to recurved, 0.2 mm.

2n

= 12, 24, 36, 48, 120.

Triglochin maritima

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Coastal and mountain marsh areas and moist alkaline meadows
Elevation 0–4000 m (0–13100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; South America; n Europe; n Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

This taxon has been separated into Triglochin concinna and T. maritima based upon the lobing of the ligule and the smaller size of the plants of the former (e.g., J. L. Reveal 1977; R. F. Thorne 1993). On a local basis such a separation seems warranted. Examination of the T. maritima complex throughout the Americas, however, reveals continuous variation from small, widely spaced plants with 2-lobed ligules to large, tufted plants with unlobed ligules, including plants with all combinations of those characters.

Triglochin maritima is important in livestock management because it is quite toxic: it is a cyanide producer.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Juncaginaceae > Triglochin
Sibling taxa
T. gaspensis, T. palustris, T. striata
Synonyms T. concinna, T. concinna var. debilis, T. debilis, T. elata
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 339. 1753 (as maritimum)
Web links