Alien Grasses of South Africa

Spartina alterniflora, the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt marshes. It grows 1–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) tall and has smooth, hollow stems which bear leaves up to 20–60 cm (7.9–23.6 in) long and 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) wide at their base, which are sharply tapered and bend down at their tips. Like its relative saltmeadow cordgrass S. patens, it produc less ↑