Spartina patens (Marsh-hay Cordgrass or Saltmeadow Cordgrass)

Description

Native Grass up to 5′ tall (though often much shorterl) grows Dunes, sand flats, upper edges of tidal marshes, maritime wet grasslands, overwash flats. Spreads by stolons to become large patches. It stabilizes the ground preventing erosion.  Birds eat the seeds. It provides cover and nesting material for birds and small mammals.  Native to USA: AL , CA , CT , DE , FL , GA , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MS , NC , NH , NJ , NY , OR , PA , RI , SC , TX , VA , WA and Canada: NB , NL , NS , PE , QC. Mexico and the West Indies.  We propagated our plants from native populations in Beaufort Co., SC