# Spartina
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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae}}
{{For|the production company|Spartina Productions}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Spartinadensiflora.jpg
| image_caption = ''[Sporobolus montevidensis](/source/Sporobolus_montevidensis)''
| taxon = Spartina
| authority = [Schreb.](/source/Johann_Christian_Daniel_von_Schreber){{r|GRIN}}
| type_species = ''[Sporobolus cynosuroides](/source/Sporobolus_cynosuroides)''
| type_species_authority = ([L.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)) P.M.Peterson & Saarela
| synonyms_ref=
| synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}}
* ''Chauvinia'' {{small|Steud.}}
* ''Limnetis'' {{small|Rich.}}
* ''Ponceletia'' {{small|Thouars 1808 not R.Br. 1810}}
* ''Psammophila'' {{small|Schult.}}
* ''Solenachne'' {{small|Steud.}}
* ''Trachynotia'' {{small|Michx.}}
{{hidden end}}
}}
[[File:Pelham Bay salt marsh and Pelham Islands.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Cordgrass in Pelham Bay salt marsh ([Pelham Bay Park](/source/Pelham_Bay_Park), The Bronx, New York)]]
'''''Spartina''''' is a [section](/source/section_(botany)) of the genus ''[Sporobolus](/source/Sporobolus)'', plants in the [grass family](/source/Poaceae), frequently found in coastal salt marshes. It was first established as a separate genus in 1789,[Schreber, Johann Christian Daniel von. 1789. Genera Plantarum Eorumque Characteres Naturales Secundum Numerum, Figuram, Situm, & Proportionem Omnium Fructificationis Partium. (Ed. 8[a]). 43] and reduced to a section in 2014. Species are commonly known as '''cordgrass''' or '''cord-grass''',[{{ITIS |id=41266 |taxon=''Spartina'' |accessdate=2011-03-03}}] and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north-western and southern Africa, the [Americas](/source/Americas) and the islands of the southern Atlantic Ocean; one or two species also occur on the western coast of North America and in [freshwater](/source/freshwater) habitats inland in the Americas. The highest species diversity is on the east coasts of North and South America, particularly [Florida](/source/Florida). They form large, often dense [colonies](/source/clonal_colony), particularly on coastal [salt marsh](/source/salt_marsh)es, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will produce [hybrids](/source/Hybrid_(biology)) if they come into contact.
==Taxonomy==
In 2014, the taxon ''Spartina'' was subsumed into the genus ''Sporobolus'' and reassigned to the taxonomic status of [section](/source/section_(botany)),[Peterson, PM, et al (2014) A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification of ''Sporobolus'' (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Sporobolinae), Taxon 63: 1212-1243.] but it may still be possible to see ''Spartina'' referred to as an accepted genus. In 2019, an interdisciplinary team of experts from all continents (except for Antarctica) coauthored a report published in the journal ''Ecology'' supporting ''Spartina'' as a genus.[Bortolus, A, P Adam, JB Adams, ML Ainouche, D Ayres, MD Bertness, TJ Bouma, JF Bruno, I Caçador, JT Carlton, JM Castillo, CSB Costa, AJ Davy, L Deegan, B Duarte, E Figueroa, J Gerwein, AJ Gray, ED Grosholz, SD Hacker, AR Hughes, E Mateos-Naranjo, IA Mendelssohn, JT Morris, AF Muñoz-Rodríguez, FJJ Nieva, LA Levin, B Li, W Liu, SC Pennings, A Pickart, S Redondo-Gómez, DM Richardson, A Salmon, E Schwindt, BR Silliman, EE Sotka, C Stace, M Sytsma, S Temmerman, RE Turner, I Valiela, MP Weinstein, and JS Weis. (2019) Supporting ''Spartina'': Interdisciplinary perspective shows ''Spartina'' as a distinct solid genus. ''Ecology'', 100(11), 2019, e02863. {{doi|10.1002/ecy.2863}}.]
The section name ''Spartina'' is derived from {{lang|grc|σπαρτίνη}} ({{grc-tr|σπαρτίνη}}), the [Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) word for a cord made from Spanish broom (''[Spartium junceum](/source/Spartium_junceum)'').[{{cite web |url=http://herbarium.usu.edu/treatments/Spartina.htm |first=Mary E. |last=Barkworth |title=17.45 SPARTINA Schreb.
|work=Intermountain Herbarium |publisher=Utah State University |access-date=2013-11-30}}]
===Species===
The following species are recognised in the section ''Spartina'':[Li, B. et al (2009) ''Spartina alterniflora'' invasions in the Yangtze River estuary, China: An overview of current status and ecosystem effects, Ecol. Eng. 35: 511-520.][Balke, T. et al (2012) Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: A case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer ''Spartina anglica'', Geomorphology 153-154: 232-238.] This is particularly important in areas where invasive ''Spartina'' species significantly alter their new environment, with impacts to native plants and animals.[Strong, D.R., & Ayres, D.R. (2013) Ecological and Evolutionary Misadventures of ''Spartina'', Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 44:389-410.]
===As an invasive species===
Three of the species placed in ''Spartina'' have become [invasive plants](/source/Invasive_species) in some countries. In [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), ''Sporobolus anglica'', also known as English cordgrass, is an aggressive, aquatic alien that invades mud flats, salt marshes and beaches, out-competing native plants, spreading quickly over mud flats and leaving large ''Spartina'' meadows.[[http://alienspecies.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/eng/species/spartina ''Spartina'', Aliens Among Us.]] It is also invasive in China and California.[
''Sporobolus montevidensis'' and ''Sporobolus pumilus'' have become invasive on the Iberian Peninsula and the west coast of the United States][D. G. SanLeón, J. Izco & J. M. Sánchez (1999). Joseph Caffrey; Philip R. F. Barrett; Maria Teresa Ferreira; Ilidio S. Moreira; Kevin J. Murphy; Philip Max Wade, eds. "Biology, Ecology and Management of Aquatic Plants". Hydrobiologia. ''Developments in Hydrobiology'', Vol. 147. 415: 213–222. doi:10.1023/A:1003835201167. {{ISBN|978-90-481-5404-3}}.][Oregon Department of Agriculture, Noxious Weeds https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/weeds/pages/aboutweeds.aspx]
''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' and its hybrids with other ''Spartina'' species are invasive in numerous locations around the globe, including China, California, England, France, and Spain.[Ainouche, M.L., et al (2009) Hybridization, polyploidy and invasion: lessons from ''Spartina'' (Poaceae), ''Biol. Invasions'' 11: 1159-1173.]
==Cultivation==
Species of the section ''Spartina'' have been planted to reclaim [estuarine](/source/estuary) areas for [farming](/source/agriculture), to supply [fodder](/source/fodder) for [livestock](/source/livestock), and to prevent [erosion](/source/erosion). Various members of the genus (especially ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' and its derivatives, ''Sporobolus anglicus'' and ''Sporobolus × townsendii'') have spread outside of their native boundaries and become [invasive](/source/invasive_species).
Big cordgrass (''S. cynosuroides'') is used in the construction of bull's eye targets for sports archery. A properly constructed target can stop an arrow safely without damage to the arrowhead as it lodges in the target.[{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126 |title=Bull's-eye Builder |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=June 1952 |pages=126–127|publisher=Hearst Magazines }}]
==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
[{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?11328 |title=Genus: ''Spartina'' Schreb. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2011-02-27 |access-date=2011-03-03}}]
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q159038}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Spartina
Category:Halophytes
Category:Grasses of Africa
Category:Grasses of Europe
Category:Grasses of North America
Category:Grasses of South America
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spartina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartina) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartina?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.