Spartina maritima - common cord grass

	DISSEMINATION

Kingdom	Plantae
Sub Kingdom	Trecheobionta (vascular plant)
Superdivision	Spermatophyta (seed plant)
Division	Magnoliophyta (flowering plant)
Class	Magnoliopsida (dicotyledon)
Order	Poales
Family	Graminaceae
Genus	*Spartina*
Species	*maritima*
Classification	(M.A. Curtis) Fern.
Common name	common cord grass

Geographic Range	amphiatlantic
Physical Characteristics	perennial plant with erect stems and short repent rizomes. The root is whitish and coralloid. Leaves are convolute, smooth, blue-green and nearly prickly. Flowers are arranged in erect terminal spikes, 8 - 10 centimeters long, composed by little spikelets almost sessile on two sets. The fruit is a kernel. It flowers from July to September.
Notes	it is spread in the lagoon of Venice. It reproduces both by seeds and rhizome division. The relatively tardy growth is due to its being a C4 species, with low photosynthetic efficiency at low temperature.
Habitat	typical species of saltmarshes and salt places. It creates vegetation spots at the borders of saltmarshes and in lower zones, where it grows with roots in the water, except in the periods of very low tide.

Sources
References	Y.Waysel, Biology of Halophytes, Academic Press Inc., 1972 Flora e vegetazione delle barene - di N. Anoè, D. Calzavara, L. Salviato - Società Veneziana di Scienze Naturali
Web References	http://www.istitutoveneto.it/venezia/documenti/altri_elaborati/libro_vegetazione.pdf
Source of the photo	Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti