Sporobolus foliosus

{{Short description|Species of grass}} {{Speciesbox | image = Spartina foliosa.jpg | status = G3 | status_system = TNC | parent = Spartina | taxon = Sporobolus foliosus | authority = (Trin.) | synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} * ''Spartina densiflora f. acuta'' St.-Yves * ''Spartina foliosa'' Trin. * ''Spartina leiantha'' Benth. * ''Spartina stricta var. foliosa'' (Trin.) Thurb. {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Sporobolus foliosus''''' is a species of grass known by the common name '''California cordgrass'''.<ref>{{PLANTS|id=SPFO|taxon=Spartina foliosa|accessdate=24 November 2015}}</ref> It was reclassified from '''''Spartina foliosa''''' after a taxonomic revision in 2014.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Paul M. |last2=Romaschenko |first2=Konstantin |last3=Arrieta |first3=Yolanda Herrera |last4=Saarela |first4=Jeffery M. |title=A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification of ''Sporobolus'' (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Sporobolinae) |journal=Taxon |date=2014 |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=1212–1243 |doi=10.12705/636.19|bibcode=2014Taxon..63.1212P }}</ref> It is native to the salt marshes and mudflats of coastal California and Baja California, especially San Francisco Bay. It is a perennial grass growing from short rhizomes. It produces single stems or clumps of thick, fleshy stems that grow up to 1.5 meters tall. They are green or purple-tinged. The long, narrow leaves are flat or rolled inward. The inflorescence is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The lower spikelets are sometimes enclosed in the basal sheaths of upper leaves.

This native plant is seriously threatened by the invasion of its North American Atlantic coast relative smooth cordgrass (''Sporobolus alterniflorus''), which is not native to the Pacific coast. ''S. alterniflorus'' was introduced to San Francisco Bay in the 1970s and it quickly began to hybridize with ''S. foliosus''. Hybrids generally outcompete the native plant and spread rapidly, threatening ''S. foliosus'' with localized extirpation.<ref name=ayres>{{cite journal |last1=Ayres |first1=Debra R. |last2=Zaremba |first2=Katherine |last3=Strong |first3=Donald R. |title=Extinction of a Common Native Species by Hybridization with an Invasive Congener |journal=Weed Technology |date=2004 |volume=18 |issue=SP1 |pages=1288–1291 |doi=10.1614/0890-037X(2004)018[1288:EOACNS]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=86616225 }}</ref> The two species reproduce at the same time of year, and the invader sheds large amounts of pollen that fertilize the flowers of the native, so that the majority of an affected native plant's offspring are hybrids.<ref name=ayres/> This is an example of genetic pollution.<ref name=anttila>{{cite journal |last1=Anttila |first1=Carina K. |last2=Daehler |first2=Curtis C. |last3=Rank |first3=Nathan E. |last4=Strong |first4=Donald R. |title=Greater male fitness of a rare invader (''Spartina alterniflora'', Poaceae) threatens a common native (''Spartina foliosa'') with hybridization |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=1998 |volume=85 |issue=11 |pages=1597–1601 |doi=10.2307/2446487|jstor=2446487 |pmid=21680319 |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''S. alterniflorus'' × ''foliosus'' hybrids have spread rapidly because they are much more genetically fit than either parental species, an example of hybrid vigor.<ref name=tnc>[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Spartina+foliosa ''Spartina foliosa''.] NatureServe. 2012.</ref> However, ''S. foliosus'' is still the dominant plant at lower tidal elevations in most salt marshes around San Francisco Bay,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ort |first1=Brian S. |last2=Thornton |first2=Whitney J. |title=Changes in the population genetics of an invasive ''Spartina'' after 10 years of management |journal=Biological Invasions |date=2016 |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=2267–2281 |doi=10.1007/s10530-016-1177-3|bibcode=2016BiInv..18.2267O |s2cid=254291560 }}</ref> and numerous locations within the Bay have remained uninfested during ongoing efforts to eradicate ''S. alterniflorus'' and hybrids. Restoration of tidal marsh habitat is in progress at multiple sites, including the planting of cultivated ''S. foliosus'' harvested from uninfested locations and propagated in a nursery.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kerr |first1=Drew W. |last2=Hogle |first2=Ingrid B. |last3=Ort |first3=Brian S. |last4=Thornton |first4=Whitney J. |title=A review of 15 years of ''Spartina'' management in the San Francisco Estuary |journal=Biological Invasions |date=2016 |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=2247–2266 |doi=10.1007/s10530-016-1178-2|bibcode=2016BiInv..18.2247K |s2cid=254290258 }}</ref><ref>http://spartina.org/documents/2014_5RevegRpt2015_16Plan_20160126_ALLWeb.pdf, Hammond J, San Francisco Estuary Invasive ''Spartina'' Project Revegetation Program Year 4 (2014-2015) Installation Report and Year 5 (2015-2016) Revegetation Plan (DRAFT). Accessed 7/12/18.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7701 Calflora: ''Spartina foliosa'' (California cord grass)] *[https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=45044 Jepson Manual (TJM2) Treatment] *[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SPFO USDA Plants Profile for ''Spartina foliosa'' (California cordgrass)] *[http://spartina.org San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project] *[http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/info2.asp?name=Spartina_foliosa&type=treatment Grass Manual Treatment: ''Spartina foliosa''] *[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Spartina+foliosa UC CalPhotos gallery]

foliosus Category:Native grasses of California Category:Flora of Baja California Category:Grasses of Mexico