''Sporobolus michauxianus'' is a species of
cordgrass known as prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass, tall marshgrass, and sloughgrass. It is native to much of North America, including central and eastern Canada and most of the contiguous United States except for the southwestern and southeastern regions. Its distribution extends into Mexico.
It is also present on other continents as an
introduced species.
[''Spartina pectinata''.]
Grass Manual Treatment.
Description
This species of grass has hard, sturdy, hollow stems that may reach in height. They grow from a network of woody
rhizome
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 ...
s and tough roots that form a
sod. The roots penetrate over into the soil.
[ The leaves have sharp, serrated edges.][''Spartina pectinata''.]
USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. The panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
may be up to long and may have many branches. Each spikelet is up to in length.[ This grass can spread via its rhizome, producing large monotypic stands.][
]
Habitat and ecology
This species can grow in a variety of habitat types, but it is a facultative wetland species, most often found in wet habitats. These include fens, wet prairies, rivers, floodplains, ponds, moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
s, and marshes. The grass is tolerant of water, but it does not tolerate prolonged flooding. Its dense root network stabilizes soil, even in areas where it would be eroded by flowing water.[
The larvae of '']Photedes inops
''Photedes inops'', the spartina borer moth, is a species of moth native to North America. The larvae are hosted on ''Spartina pectinata'', apparently exclusively. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut
...
'' host on ''Spartina pectinata'', apparently exclusively.
Uses
Livestock may graze on this plant when it is young, but once it matures it becomes very coarse and unpalatable.[
This species has been investigated as a possible source of ]biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
.[Goudarzi, S]
Prairie Cordgrass for Ethanol Production.
''AIP Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy'' 21 November 2011.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q50346712, from2=Q978311
michauxianus
Flora of North America