Cordgrasses - Invasive Species Information
What Are Cordgrasses - (Spartina) all species & hybrids?
Habitat: Terrestrial. Prefers wet areas / marsh land
Distribution in Ireland: Widely distributed
Status: Established
Family name: Poaceae
Reproduction: The species reproduce by shedding large amounts of pollen that fertilize the flowers of native species, so that the majority of the native plant's off-spring are hybrids
Native to the salt marshes and mudflats of coastal California, it is a perennial grass growing from short rhizomes. Spartina produces single stems or clumps of thick, fleshy stems which grow up to 1.5 meters tall.
Green or purple-tinged long, narrow leaves are flat or rolled inward. The inflorescence is a narrow, dense, spike-like stick of branches appressed together, the unit reaching up to 25 centimeters long. The lower spikelets are sometimes enclosed in the basal sheaths of upper leaves.
Cordgrass Stems
How To Identify Cordgrasses?
Leaves: Narrow light green or purple tinged leaf, flat or rolled inwards.
Flower: tiny feathery pale yellow flowers in 30cm long spikes
Size: Can grow up to 1.5 metres
Cordgrass - Spartina ID Guide
Large Cordgrass Infestation
Why Are Cordgrasses A Problem?
As these species proliferate, they trap sediment with their large root masses, raise the elevation of the intertidal areas and replace natural mud and sand flats, native eelgrass and algae beds, and river channels.
The plants can be distributed by birds, animals, humans, water currents, recreational boats and ships’ ballast water. The results can be serious:
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A loss of critical rearing habitat for fish such as juvenile salmon, clams, oysters and crab.
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A loss of valuable habitat for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl.
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An increase in the risk of flooding.
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A loss of water access from shoreline areas and beaches and for
boats.
European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 non-native invasive plant species A-Z (Updated 2017)
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There are currently 35 invasive plant species listed in the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations (annex 2, Part 1)...
Click on a species from the following list to find out more regarding non-native species subject to restrictions under Regulations 49 and 50.
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American Skunk-Cabbage - Lysichiton americanus
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Brazilian Giant-Rhubarb - Gunnera manicata
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Broad-Leaved Rush - Juncus planifolius
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Cape Pondweed - Aponogeton distachyos
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Cordgrasses - Spartina (all species and hybrids)
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Curly Waterweed - Lagarosiphon major
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Dwarf Eel-Grass - Zostera japonica
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Fanwort - Cabomba caroliniana
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Floating Pennywort - Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
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Fringed Water-Lily - Nymphoides peltata
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Giant Hogweed - Heracleum mantegazzianum
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Giant Knotweed - Fallopia sachalinensis
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Giant-Rhubarb - Gunnera tinctoria
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Giant Salvinia - Salvinia molesta
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Himalayan Balsam - Impatiens glandulifera
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Himalayan Knotweed - Persicaria wallichii
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Hottentot-Fig - Carpobrotus edulis
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Japanese Knotweed - Fallopia japonica
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Large-Flowered Waterweed - Egeria densa
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Mile-a-Minute Weed - Persicaria perfoliata
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New Zealand Pigmyweed - Crassula helmsii
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Parrots Feather - Myriophyllum aquaticum
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Red Alga - Grateloupia doryphora
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Rhododendron - Rhododendron ponticum
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Salmonberry - Rubus spectabilis
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Sea-Buckthorn - Hippophae rhamnoides
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Spanish Bluebell - Hyacinthoides hispanica
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Three-Cornered Leek - Allium triquetrum
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Wakame - Undaria pinnatifida
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Water Chestnut - Trapa natans
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Water Fern - Azolla filiculoides
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Water Lettuce - Pistia stratiotes
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Water-Primrose - Ludwigia (all species)
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Waterweeds - Elodea (all species)
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Wireweed - Sargassum muticum