Spartina

{{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'' | taxon = Spartina | authority = Schreb.{{r|GRIN}} | type_species = ''Sporobolus cynosuroides'' | type_species_authority = (L.) 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, The Bronx, New York)]] '''''Spartina''''' is a section of the genus ''Sporobolus'', plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. It was first established as a separate genus in 1789,<ref>Schreber, Johann Christian Daniel von. 1789. Genera Plantarum Eorumque Characteres Naturales Secundum Numerum, Figuram, Situm, & Proportionem Omnium Fructificationis Partium. (Ed. 8[a<nowiki>]</nowiki>). 43</ref> and reduced to a section in 2014. Species are commonly known as '''cordgrass''' or '''cord-grass''',<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=41266 |taxon=''Spartina'' |accessdate=2011-03-03}}</ref> and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north-western and southern Africa, the 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 habitats inland in the Americas. The highest species diversity is on the east coasts of North and South America, particularly Florida. They form large, often dense colonies, particularly on coastal salt marshes, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will produce hybrids 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,<ref name="Peterson2014">Peterson, PM, et al (2014) A molecular phylogeny and new subgeneric classification of ''Sporobolus'' (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Sporobolinae), Taxon 63: 1212-1243.</ref> 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.<ref name="Bortolus2019">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}}.</ref>

The section name ''Spartina'' is derived from {{lang|grc|σπαρτίνη}} ({{grc-tr|σπαρτίνη}}), the Greek word for a cord made from Spanish broom (''Spartium junceum'').<ref>{{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}}</ref>

===Species=== The following species are recognised in the section ''Spartina'':<ref name="Peterson2014" /> ;Subsection ''Alterniflori'' P.M.Peterson & Saarela * ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' {{small|(Loisel.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – smooth cordgrass – Atlantic coasts of North and South America, West Indies * ''Sporobolus anglicus'' (C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela - Great Britain, introduced to Europe, China, Australia, New Zealand, and North America * ''Sporobolus foliosus'' {{small|(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – California cordgrass – California, Baja California, Baja California Sur * ''Sporobolus longispicus'' {{small|(Hauman & Parodi ex St.-Yves) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Argentina, Uruguay * ''Sporobolus maritimus'' (Curtis) P.M.Peterson & Saarela - Europe, Africa * ''Sporobolus'' × ''townsendii'' {{small|(H.Groves & J.Groves) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} (''S. alterniflorus'' × ''S. maritimus'') – Townsend's cordgrass – western Europe ;Subsection ''Ponceletia'' (Thouars) P.M.Peterson & Saarela * ''Sporobolus arundinacea'' (Thouars) Carmich – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean * ''Sporobolus mobberleyanus'' P.M.Peterson & Saarela – Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean * ''Sporobolus spartinae'' {{small|(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Gulf cordgrass – Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Argentina, incl the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico ;Subsection ''Spartina'' (Schreb) P.M.Peterson & Saarela * ''Sporobolus bakeri'' {{small|(Merr.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – sand cordgrass – south-eastern US * ''Sporobolus coarctatus'' {{small|(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay * ''Sporobolus cynosuroides'' {{small|(L.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – big cordgrass – eastern US (TX to MA); Bahamas * ''Sporobolus'' × ''eatonianus'' {{small|P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – eastern North America * ''Sporobolus hookerianus'' {{small|P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – alkali cordgrass – western Canada, western + central US, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Michoacán * ''Sporobolus michauxianus'' {{small|(Hitchc.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – prairie cordgrass – from Northwest Territories to Texas and Newfoundland * ''Sporobolus montevidensis'' {{small|(Arechav.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – denseflower cordgrass – Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile * ''Sporobolus pumilus'' {{small|(Roth) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – saltmeadow cordgrass – east coast of North America from Labrador to Tamaulipas; West Indies * ''Sporobolus versicolor'' {{small|(E.Fabre) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Mediterranean, Azores

==Ecology== Species of the section ''Spartina'' are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Aaron's skipper, which feeds exclusively on smooth cordgrass, and the engrailed moth.

Some species of the section ''Spartina'' are considered as ecosystem engineers that can strongly influence the physical and biological environment.<ref name="Li2009">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.</ref><ref name="Balke2012">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.</ref> This is particularly important in areas where invasive ''Spartina'' species significantly alter their new environment, with impacts to native plants and animals.<ref name="StrongAyres2013">Strong, D.R., & Ayres, D.R. (2013) Ecological and Evolutionary Misadventures of ''Spartina'', Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 44:389-410.</ref>

===As an invasive species=== Three of the species placed in ''Spartina'' have become invasive plants in some countries. In 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.<ref>[http://alienspecies.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/eng/species/spartina ''Spartina'', Aliens Among Us.]</ref> It is also invasive in China and California.<ref name=StrongAyres2013/>

''Sporobolus montevidensis'' and ''Sporobolus pumilus'' have become invasive on the Iberian Peninsula and the west coast of the United States<ref name=StrongAyres2013/><ref name="SanLeon1999">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}}.</ref><ref name="ODA">Oregon Department of Agriculture, Noxious Weeds https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/weeds/pages/aboutweeds.aspx</ref>

''Sporobolus alterniflorus'' and its hybrids with other ''Spartina'' species are invasive in numerous locations around the globe, including China, California, England, France, and Spain.<ref name=StrongAyres2013/><ref name="Ainouche2009">Ainouche, M.L., et al (2009) Hybridization, polyploidy and invasion: lessons from ''Spartina'' (Poaceae), ''Biol. Invasions'' 11: 1159-1173.</ref>

==Cultivation== Species of the section ''Spartina'' have been planted to reclaim estuarine areas for farming, to supply fodder for livestock, and to prevent 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.

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.<ref name="Popular Mechanics">{{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 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="GRIN">{{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}}</ref> }}

Category:Spartina Category:Halophytes Category:Grasses of Africa Category:Grasses of Europe Category:Grasses of North America Category:Grasses of South America