Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene)
Also known as seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, desert saltgrass, coastal saltgrass, spikegrass.
↑Summary
A salt-tolerant perennial grass species with a broad distribution. In the eastern U.S., strictly limited to coastal areas, including almost the entire east coast as well as the gulf coast; broadly distributed in arid inland areas of western North America, to the West coast, where it also occurs in coastal areas.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Native | |
| Introduced | |
| Native or Not Present | |
| Introduced or Not Present | |
| Native or Introduced or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
↑Habitat
Moist alkaline soils and soils with high salt content: coastal sand dunes, salt marshes, roadsides, railroads, and waste areas, inland salt flats.
↑Uses
This plant can be used for reclaiming or revegetating sites with high soil salinity where few other plants will grow.
↑Links & External Resources
• Saltgrass | Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata (Saltgrass) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Seashore Saltgrass | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene (Saltgrass) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
