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| ## saltgrass {#saltgrass .Title-Header}                               |
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| *Distichlis spicata* (L.) Greene                                      |
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| Plant Symbol = DISP                                                   |
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*Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Louisiana
State Office*

# Alternate Names

Inland saltgrass, seashore saltgrass, spike grass, and alkali grass

# Uses

*Livestock*: Under favorable soil and moisture conditions, studies have
shown Saltgrass favorable for pastures irrigated with saline water. The
total dry matter yields were 9081 kg/ha with a total protein production
of 1300 kg/ha. Saltgrass is grazed by both cattle and horses and it has
a forage value of fair to good because it remains green when most other
grasses are dry during the drought periods and it is resistant to
grazing and trampling. It is cropped both when green and in the dry
state; however, it is most commonly used the winter for livestock feed.
Saltgrass along the Atlantic coast was the primary source of hay for the
early colonists.

[Wildlife]{.underline}: Saltgrass is a larval foodplant for the
Wandering Skipper (Panoquina panoquinoides errans) butterfly. It is also
an important food in the diet of waterfowl and the Florida salt marsh
vole (*Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli*), which is on the
Endangered and Threatened Species List of Southeastern United States.
Ducks are reported to occasionally eat the dried seeds and controlled
burning provides tender forages for wild geese.

*Distichlis spicata* is significant in the salt marshes, which provide
nesting grounds for birds, fish and larvae of many species of marine
invertebrate animals. As salt marsh plants decompose, their stored
nutrients provide a steady source of food for clams, crabs, and
fish.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.8222222222222222in"
height="3.446527777777778in"}

*Wetland Restoration*: The thick entangled roots of salt marsh plants
acts as a guard between the ocean and the shore protecting the land from
pollutants and other chemicals associated with runoff water. It is
particularly useful in saline/alkaline wetlands.

*Medicine*: Saltgrass is a respiratory allergenic plant that is offered
by Miles Pharmaceutical and used by Florida physicians to treat
respiratory allergies.

*Spice*: Indians that inhabited California used saltgrass as a
seasoning. They collected the salt crystals by threshing the blades. The
seasoning provided is gray-green and said to have tasted like a salty
dill pickle.

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

# Description

*General*: Grass Family (Poaceae)*.* Inland saltgrass is a native,
dioecious low, glabrous perennial, with scaly rhizomes. Culms are erect,
varying in heights of 1.5 -- 4.5 dm, less tall in dense colonies. Lower
leaves consist of sheaths only, which are overlapping and glabrous.
Sheath margins are scarious and sparsely ciliated apically. Leaves are
mostly cauline and vertically two-ranked. Blades are firm, the edges
often flat at the base and folded or rolled inward meeting in the
middle, therefore, appearing attenuate. Blades are generally less than
10 cm long. Salt crystals may be found on the leaves and stems. The
ligules are stiff, membranous and apically ciliate. Ligules range in
lengths between 0.2-0.5 mm long. The inflorescences are dense,
spike-like panicles, which range from 5-7 cm long or less. Spikelets are
3-10 flowered and are laterally flattened.

Disarticulation is above the glumes and between the florets. The two
glumes are unequal in size. Glumes are keeled and hard on the back. The
margins of the glumes are scarious; the first glume is 1-3 nerved and
1.5-2.5 mm long. The second glume is 3-5 nerved and 2-3 mm long. The
lemmas are rounded on the back and have 9-11 faint nerves. Lemmas are
acute to cuspidate and 3-4 mm long. The lemma margins are scarious.
Paleas are 2-nerved, 3-5 mm long, falcate, and are sharply keeled, the
keel very finely hispid-ciliate. The palea margins are scarious and are
in-rolled.

# Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site.

# Establishment

*Adaptation*: Saltgrass is found in saline areas, brackish marshes, and
in salt flats along the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the
Gulf of Mexico and the along the coast of South America. It inhabits
upper/high marsh (irregularly flooded) areas, in which the water levels
vary between 2 inches above the soil surface and 6 inches below the soil
surface. It is also commonly present in the dry West, where it is one of
the most drought-tolerant species. Saltgrass is located in both organic
alkaline and in saline soils. It is found in planting zones 7,8,9,and
10. Distichlis spicata can be found in flower from June to October. The
inflorescence is yellowish in color, turning straw brown as it dries.

*General*: It may be propagated by seeds, which are produced many times
in a growing season and are dispersed by wind and water. It is easier
and more often propagated by its extensively creeping underground
rhizomes.

*Rhizomes*: Saltgrass can be established by seeds or by rhizome
cuttings. If using rhizome cuttings, they must not dry out. They may be
stored up to 28 days. It is recommended that the rhizomes be stored in a
temperature range of 35-50° F and in 60-75% relative humidity. Rhizomes
are can be planted any time of the year at a depth of 1-2 inches.
However, rhizomes sprout better at 77-86° F.

*Seeds*: Saltgrass seeds demand more than rhizomes to sprout. The seeds
need moist soil, low alkalinity and high temperatures. Although many
seeds are produced, only a small percentage of those seeds may germinate
naturally.

# Management

Saltgrass can be managed by burning between September 1 and February 1
biannually, when the water level exceeds the soil surface. Following
burning, four inches of re-growth should be obtained before grazing is
allowed. Water control systems may need to be installed to maintain
correct water levels to avoid prolong inundation, which kills saltgrass.
Cattle walkways are usually installed to make the forage more
accessible.

# Pests and Potential Problems

Saltgrass is the alternate host for the red rust (*Puccinia aristidae*,
also known as *Puccinia subnitens*) that infects spinach. Although the
red rust disease is difficult for shippers to detect, it grows rapidly
during transit. Since little is known about this disease, there are no
recommended control techniques. Saltgrass eradication has been the only
method used so far because the pathogen cannot complete its life cycle
without this alternate host plant.

# Control

This species can behave invasively in some situations. Please contact
your local agricultural extension specialist or county weed specialist
to learn what works best in your area and how to use it safely. Always
read label and safety instructions for each control method. Trade names
and control measures appear in this document only to provide specific
information. USDA, NRCS does not guarantee or warranty the products and
control methods named, and other products may be equally effective.

# Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

**'LK517f saltgrass'** is a California native, perennial, warm season
grass with extensive creeping, yellowish, scaly rhizomes forming large
colonies.

Establishment should be in late spring using rhizomes or plugs planted
on one-foot centers. Irrigation water should be applied the first summer
to ensure stand establishment. LK517f is used for riparian restoration
and bank and shoreline stabilization.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Ahlgren, G.H. 1956. *Forage crops*. McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., New
York, New York. 7 p.

Allen, C.M. 1992. *Grasses of Louisiana*. 2^nd^ ed. Cajun Prairie
Habitat Preservation Society, Louisiana. 96 p.

Austin, D.F. 1998. *Respiratory allergenic plants*. AUG00.
<http://www.fau.edu/divdept/science/envsci/allergy.html>

Bentley Community College 1997. *Salt marshes*. AUG00.
<http://web.bentley.edu/sum97/ns314/ecosystems/saltcomm.htm1>

Comer, W.L. & D.G. Lugg 1983. *Yield and quality of saltgrass
(Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene) grown in two soils and several
salinities*. Western Society of Crop Science Abstracts. AUG99.
<http://ectc.ext.missouri.edu:70/R13180-14574-1m/info/wscs/abstracts/83.html>

The University of Arizona 1997. *Arizona range grasses*. College of
Agriculture, Cooperative Extension. AUG99.

[http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az97105/desert\_
saltgrass.html]{.underline}

Colorado State University 1996. *Red rust on spinach*. Cooperative
Extension Pest Alert Bulletin, Vol. 13, No. 7 May 31, 1996. Red Rust on
Spinach. AUG99.
<http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/IPM/news/pestalrt/Vol13/pest13-7.htm>

USDI, FWS 1992. *Endangered and Threatened tpecies of southeastern
United States (The Red Book) FWS Region -- 4 As of 11/92*. AUG99.
[http://www.fws.gov/r9endspp/i/a/saa98.html]{.underline}

Godfrey, R. K. & J.W. Wooten 1979. *Aquatic and wetland plants of
Southeastern United States -- Monocotyledons*. University of Georgia
Press, Athens, Georgia. 213 p.

Gordon--Garrison, M. 1994. *Gardening naturally*. AUG00.
<http://sdcc12.ucsd.edu/~wa12/garden11.94.html>

Kim, J.G. & B. Grenwell 1999*. UCD wetlands lab/wetland plants*. AUG99.
[http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/wetlands/plants/ds.html]{.underline}

Leithead, H.L., L.L. Yarlett, & T.N. Shiflet 1971. *100 native forage
grasses in 11 southern states*. USDA Handbook No. 389. 83 p.

Oregon Coast.Com 1999. *Neterts Bay: Oregon coast -- salt marsh &
mudflats*. [http://www.oregoncoast.com/Netarts/nbay3.htm]{.underline}

Sampson, A.W. 1924. *Native American forage plants*. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., New York, New York. 172 pp.

Struttman, J. 1999. *Butterflies of New Jersey*. USDI, GS, BRD, Northern
Prairie Wildlife Research Center. AUG00.
[http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/BFLYUSA/nj/5159.htm]{.underline}

Szalay, F.A. & V.H. Resh 1996. *Responses of wetland invertebrates and
plants important in waterfowl diets to burning and mowing of emergent
vegetation*. Wetlands 17: (1996). AUG99.
[[http://www.sws.org/wetlands/abstracts/volume17n1/SZALAY.html]{.underline}](http://www.sws.org/wetlands/abstracts/volume17n1/SZALAY.html)

Uchytil, R.J. 1990. *Distichlis spicata*. IN: *The fire effects
information system* \[Database\]. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain
Research Station, Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula,
Montana.

# Prepared By

*Selena Dawn Newman*

USDA NRCS Louisiana State Office, Alexandria, Louisiana

*Maraya Gates*

Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

# Species Coordinator

*Mike Materne*

Louisiana State University, Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited 07dec2000 jsp;10feb03 ahv; 10aug03 jsp; 27Apr05 rln; 06jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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