Sea Arrowgrass

The Sea Arrow-grass seems to be less common in our area. It prefers brackish or saline wet habitats in the northern mountainous regions of W. Pakistan. A fairly good forage plant and yields sodium carbonates from its ashes which is used in soap making.

This taxon has been separated into Triglochin concinna and T. maritima based upon the lobing of the ligule and the smaller size of the plants of the former (e.g., J. L. Reveal 1977; R. F. Thorne 1993). On a local basis such a separation seems warranted. Examination of the T. maritima complex throughout the Americas, however, reveals continuous variation from small, widely spaced plants with 2-lobed ligules to large, tufted plants with unlobed ligules, including plants with all combinations of those characters.

Triglochin maritima is important in livestock management because it is quite toxic: it is a cyanide producer.

Somewhat sturdy erect perennial of brackish or saline wet habitats with short, stout rhizome; scapes 20-50 (—80) cm. long, stout, often somewhat curved above Leaves linear-subulate, thickish, about half as long as the scapes, 3-4 (—6) mm. wide, not furrowed, semiterete but slightly flattened towards the apex Racemes 20-40 cm. long, scarcely elongating in fruit. Flowers greenish, 2-3 mm. across; pedicel 1-2 mm. long, slightly elongating after flowering, shorter than the fruit, ascending. Perianth segments 2-2.5 mm. long, and nearly as broad, ovate—elliptic with somewhat rounded apex. Carpels (3—) 6, all fertile. Fruit 3-4 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, oblong-ovoid, with angular edges or hexagonal margin, not appressed to the axis; mericarps separating completely on dehiscence, slightly grooved on the back, roundish at the base, each 1-seeded; seed about as long as the carpel.

Plants with fibrous strands of old leaves at base, 3.5--61.5 cm. Leaves erect from sheath, mostly shorter than scape, 2.2--11.5 cm; sheath 0.7--2.5 cm  1--1.8 mm, ligule occasionally hoodlike, apically 2-lobed; blade 0.9--1.4 mm wide, apex obtuse to round. Inflorescences: scape often purple near base, mostly exceeding leaves, 1--16.5 cm  0.5--1 mm; racemes 6--45 cm  1.5--7 mm; pedicel 1--4  0.2--0.3 mm. Flowers: tepals elliptic, 1.3--1.7  0.6--1.4 mm, apex acute; pistils 6, all fertile. Fruits: fruiting receptacle without wings; schizocarps linear to near globose, 2--4.5  1.5--2 mm; mericarps linear to linear-obovate, weakly ridged, 1.5--3.5  0.7--1 mm, beak erect to recurved, 0.2 mm. 2n = 12, 24, 36, 48, 120.

N. temperate regions, Himalaya & Tibet.

Distribution: Europe, Asia, N. Africa and N. America.

Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Utah, Vt., Wash., Wis., Wyo.; Mexico; South America; n Europe; n Asia.

2600-4600 m

Fl. Per. May-September.

Flowering summer--fall.

Coastal and mountain marsh areas and moist alkaline meadows; 0--4000m.

Triglochin concinna J. B. Davy; T. concinna var. debilis (M. E. Jones) J. T. Howell; T. debilis (M. E. Jones) Á. Löve & D. Löve; T. elata Nuttall