View source for 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 = [[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreb.]]{{r|GRIN}}
| type_species = ''[[Sporobolus cynosuroides]]'' 
| type_species_authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) P.M.Peterson & Saarela
| synonyms_ref=<ref name=h>{{cite web |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=443748 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926203549/http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=443748 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |title=''Spartina'' |work=[[World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]] (WCSP) |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] }}</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}}
}}

'''''Spartina''''' is a [[genus]] of plants in the [[Poaceae|grass family]], frequently found in coastal salt marshes.<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> Species in this genus 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 [[clonal colony|colonies]], particularly on coastal [[salt marsh]]es, and grow quickly. The species vary in size from 0.3–2 m tall. Many of the species will produce [[Hybrid (biology)|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 (botany)|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 [[Ancient Greek|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'' <small>P.M.Peterson & Saarela</small>
* ''[[Sporobolus alterniflorus]]'' {{small|([[Jean Louis August Loiseleur-Deslongchamps|Loisel.]]) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; smooth cordgrass – Atlantic coasts of North and South America, West Indies
* ''[[Sporobolus anglicus]]'' <small>(C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela</small> - Great Britain, introduced to Europe, China, Australia, New Zealand, and North America
* ''[[Sporobolus foliosus]]'' {{small|(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; California cordgrass – California, Baja California, Baja California Sur
* ''[[Sporobolus longispicus]]'' {{small|(Hauman & Parodi ex St.-Yves) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Argentina, Uruguay
* ''[[Sporobolus maritimus]]'' <small>(Curtis) P.M.Peterson & Saarela</small> - Europe, Africa
* ''[[Sporobolus × townsendii]]'' {{small|(H.Groves & J.Groves) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; Townsend's cordgrass – western Europe
;Subsection ''Ponceletia'' <small>(Thouars) P.M.Peterson & Saarela</small>
* ''[[Sporobolus arundinacea]]'' <small>(Thouars) Carmich</small> – 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}} &ndash; Gulf cordgrass – Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Argentina, incl the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico
;Subsection ''Spartina'' <small>(Schreb) P.M.Peterson & Saarela</small>
* ''[[Sporobolus bakeri]]'' {{small|(Merr.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; sand cordgrass – south-eastern US
* ''[[Sporobolus coarctatus]]'' {{small|(Trin.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay
* ''[[Sporobolus cynosuroides]]'' {{small|(L.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; big cordgrass – eastern US (TX to MA); Bahamas
* ''[[Sporobolus × eatonianus]]'' {{small|P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; eastern North America
* ''[[Sporobolus hookerianus]]'' {{small|P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; alkali cordgrass – western Canada, western + central US, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Michoacán
* ''[[Sporobolus michauxianus]]'' {{small|(Hitchc.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; prairie cordgrass – from Northwest Territories to Texas and Newfoundland
* ''[[Sporobolus montevidensis]]'' {{small|(Arechav.) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; denseflower cordgrass – Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile
* ''[[Sporobolus pumilus]]'' {{small|(Roth) P.M.Peterson & Saarela}} &ndash; 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 [[caterpillar|larvae]] of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including the [[Aaron's skipper]], which feeds exclusively on [[Sporobolus alterniflorus|smooth cordgrass]], and the [[Engrailed (moth)|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 ''Spartina'' species have become [[Invasive species|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 [[estuary|estuarine]] areas for [[agriculture|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 species|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>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNwDAAAAMBAJ&q=true&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>
}}

{{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]]