''Lygeum'' is a genus of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

plants in the

grass family Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

. It is placed in its own tribe Lygeeae, which is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

Nardeae ''Nardus'' is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species ''Nardus stricta'', known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek ' () from ...

. The only known species is ''Lygeum spartum'', commonly called esparto grass, cord grassAltervista Flora Italiana, genere ''Lygeum'', Sparto steppico, Esparto Grass
/ref> or albardine, which is distributed in arid areas around the Mediterranean Sea. It is similar to ''

Stipa tenacissima ''Stipa tenacissima'' (esparto, esparto grass, halfah grass, alfa grass, or needle grass) is a perennial grass of northwestern Africa and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Distribution ''Stipa tenacissima'' is an endemic species of th ...

''Garcı́a-Fuentes, A., et al. (2001)
Review of communities of ''Lygeum spartum'' L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean).
''Journal of Arid Environments'' 48(3), 323-39. and both species are used to produce a fiber product known as

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spar ...

or esparto grass.Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards
''Lygeum''.
The Grass Genera of the World. DELTA – DEscription Language for TAxonomy. Version: 18 December 2012.

Description

''Lygeum spartum'' is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

hermaphroditic, perennial grass growing up to tall.Clayton, W. D., et al. (2006 onwards)
''Lygeum''.
GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. The rhizome and the base of the stem are scaly.''Lygeum spartum''.
Flora of Pakistan. The leaves are threadlike but stiff and tough, measuring up to long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is made up of a few long-haired spikelets each up to long. They are wrapped in a lance-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

called a spatheole. This sheath is long and can have a sharp point.

Distribution

''Lygeum spartinum'' is native to southern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, where its distribution includes

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

.''Lygeum spartum''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). It may have been introduced to

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

Habitat

Rocky sea shores, or on dry sandy or clay and often calcareous soil.

Uses

''Lygeum spartum'' fibres have high tensile strength and flexibility, and is used for making ropes, sandals, baskets, mats and other durable articles. They have also used in the manufacture of high quality paper. It can also be used locally as a fodder for livestock and to stabilise sand dunes and rehabilitate salt soils, due to its tolerance of saline conditions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3310865, from2=Q3890225, from3=Q5055327 Pooideae Monotypic Poaceae genera Flora of North Africa Fiber plants Flora of the Mediterranean basin