Spartina alterniflora (and hybrids) (smooth cordgrass and hybrids )

Spartina alterniflora (and hybrids)

Photo courtesy Joseph DiTomaso

Spartina alterniflora (and S. alterniflora x foliosa hybrids) (smooth cordgrass) is a rhizomatous perennial grass (family Poaceae) found in salt marshes and mudflats in the San Francisco Estuary and associated waterways. Smooth cordgrass spreads more rapidly, grows more densely, and tolerates higher water levels than native California cordgrass (Spartina foliosa ). The two cordgrasses are known to hybridize, a process which may threaten the survival of pure strains of California cordgrass. A single smooth cordgrass plant may spread clonally in concentric circles to become a dense circular patch of up to 20 meters in diameter. The invasive cordgrass does not provide suitable habitat for native salt marsh shorebirds.

Cal-IPC Inventory rating: High - Alert

Cal-IPC Resources on Spartina alterniflora (and hybrids)

• California Invasive Plant Inventory Plant Assessment Form - Information gathered by Cal-IPC on the impacts, rate of spread, and distribution of invasive plants in California. Does not include management information.
• CalWeedMapper - Statewide maps, climate models, and reports.
• Species account from Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands - Includes biology and management information.
• Cal-IPC News - Articles from our quarterly newsletter. Each issue is available as a pdf. List of articles on Spartina alterniflora.
• Cal-IPC Symposium Proceedings - Presentations and papers from our annual Symposium.List of articles on Spartina alterniflora.
• Don't Plant a Pest! - Select your region to find non-invasive alternatives to ornamental species. Also see our statewide brochure on trees.

Cal-IPC News Articles

• Hogle, I. (2011). Hybrid Spartina Forum: Defining eradication for a genetic invader. Cal-IPC News. 19: 13, 16.
• (2006). "Conservation Across Borders" in San Jose. Cal-IPC News. 14: 11-12.
• Charles E Blair, M. (2006). Invasive aquatic weeds: Implications for mosquito and vector management activities. Cal-IPC Symposium, Rohnert Park, CA, California Invasive Plant Council.
• Grijalva, E., D. Kerr, et al. (2006). Cordgrass and clapper rails. Cal-IPC News. 13: 6-8,11.
• Sloop, C. M., D. R. Ayres, et al. (2006). Self-fertilizing cordgrass hybrids (Spartina alterniflora x S. foliosa) drive local invasion of San Francisco Bay tidal flats. Cal-IPC Symposium, Rohnert Park, CA, California Invasive Plant Council.
• Richardson, B. (2003). Invasive Spartina: "Just another weed": Biology, spread, and prospects for control. Cal-IPC News. 11: 4-6.
• (1993). California Exotic Pest Plant Council draft list exotic plants of greatest concern October 1993. CalEPPC News. 1: 6.

Cal-IPC Symposium Proceedings

• Kerr, D. (2011). Invasive Spartina Project at a turning point: Eradication on the horizon, reconciling clapper rail impacts, and charting a course towards tidal marsh revegetation with native cordgrass. Cal-IPC 2011 Symposium. Tahoe City, CA, California Invasive Plant Council.
• Hogle, I., D. Ayres, et al. (2009). Diluting the hybrids: How much is too much? . Cal-IPC Symposium 2009. Visalia, CA, California Invasive Plant Council.
• Hogle, I. (2008). Monitoring a declining, hybridizing weed. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2008. Chico, CA, California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2008.
• Hogle, I. B., P. Olofson, et al. (2007). Restoring San Francisco's tidal marshes: The demise of invasive Spartina. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2007, California Invasive Plant Council.
• Blair, C. E. (2006). Invasive aquatic weeds: Implications for mosquito and vector management activities. Cal-IPC Symposium. Rohnert Park, CA.
• Sloop, C. M., D. R. Ayres, et al. (2006). Self-fertilizing cordgrass hybrids (Spartina alterniflora x S. foliosa) drive local invasion of San Francisco Bay tidal flats. Cal-IPC Symposium. Rohnert Park, CA.
• Zaremba, K. (2005). 2004 Invasive Spartina Project monitoring program. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2005. Chico, CA.
• Anderson, L., K. Zaremba, et al. (2004). Aquatic working group. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2004. Ventura, CA.
• Nordby, J. C., A. N. Cohen, et al. (2004). Behavioral responses of birds to invasive spartina in San Francisco Bay salt marshes. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2004. Ventura, CA.
• Sloop, C. M., D. R. Ayres, et al. (2004). Invasive hybrid cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora x S. foliosa) recruitment dynamics in open mudflats of San Francisco Bay. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2004. Ventura, CA.
• Zaremba, K., M. McGowan, et al. (2004). 2003 Invasive Spartina Project Monitoring Program. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2004. Ventura, CA.
• Anderson, L. (2003). Aquatic weeds: Policy, prevention, and control. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2003. Kings Beach, CA.
• Zaremba, K., P. R. Olofson, et al. (2003). Challenges of restoring native habitat in a Spartina alterniflora hybrid invaded ecosystem. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2003. Kings Beach, CA.
• Ayres, D. R., D. L. Smith, et al. (2002). Spread of exotic cordgrasses and hybrids (Spartina sp.) in the tidal marshes of San Francisco Bay. California Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium 2002. Sacramento, California, California Exotic Pest Plant Council.
• Smith, D., S. Klohr, et al. (2002). Introduced Spartina in San Francisco Bay: 2000-2001 Survey and Findings, San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project. California Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium 2002. Sacramento, CA.
• Brownfield, N. (1998). Eradication of exotic Spartina in San Francisco Bay. California Exotic Pest Plant Council '98 Symposium. Ontario, CA.
• Kelly, M. (1998). SWAT: Special weed action teams as ambassadors for education and energy. California Exotic Pest Plant Council '98 Symposium. Ontario, CA.
• Jackson, N. E. (1996). Control of exotic weeds with Roundup herbicide: A survey of projects around the world. California Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium. San Diego, CA.
• Strong, D. R. and C. C. Daehler (1995). Alien cordgrasses in Pacific estuaries. California Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium '95. M. Kelly, J. Lovich and J. Randall. Pacific Grove, CA.

Other Resources on Spartina alterniflora (and S. alterniflora x foliosa hybrids)

• USDA PLANTS database - Federal database with information on identification and distribution, and links to websites in individual states.
• Jepson Online Interchange for California Flora - Information on taxonomy, biology, and distribution from the UC Berkeley Jepson Herbarium.
• CalFlora - Distribution information by county based on submitted observations and herbarium specimens.
• The Nature Conservancy Management Summary - Information compiled by TNC land managers. Photos included for some species.
• Natural Resource Projects Inventory - State database with information on resource management projects throughout California. Query by the species of interest.
• San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project - The Invasive Spartina Project is a coordinated regional effort among local, state and federal organizations dedicated to preserving California's extraordinary coastalbiological resources through the elimination of introduced species of Spartina (cordgrass).

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