Biology:Triglochin maritima

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Short description: Species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family Juncaginaceae

Sea arrowgrass
Stranddreizack.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Juncaginaceae
Genus: Triglochin
Species:
T. maritima
Binomial name
Triglochin maritima
Synonyms
  • Triglochin concinna

Triglochin maritima is a species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family Juncaginaceae. It is found in brackish marshes, freshwater marshes, wet sandy beaches, fens, damp grassland and bogs. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisphere. In the British Isles it is common on the coast, but very rare inland.

Description

It is similar to marsh arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris) but has the following differences: it has stolons, is stouter.[1] The leaves are fleshy and not furrowed above. It is not very aromatic.[1] The raceme is more dense and like sea plantain. The flowers are fleshier.[2] The fruits are oval, 4 mm long, 2 mm wide.[1]

It varies in height from 200–750 mm (8–30 in). It flowers in May to August; flowers are greenish, 3 petalled, edged with purple, 3 mm (18 in) across, in a long spike.[3][4] Common names include seaside arrowgrass,[5] common arrowgrass, sea arrowgrass and shore arrowgrass.[citation needed]

It can be an annual or perennial.[6]

Triglochin concinna is a synonym of this species.[7]

This plant is believed to be toxic, as it can produce cyanide. However, this is usually when the plant is distressed in drought conditions or due to over harvesting, usually by grazing animals. There is a common belief that this species has been known to cause losses in cattle, with green leaves being more toxic than dried material, yet sheep and deer graze on the plant, especially in rural seaside areas. It could be that belief in the plants' toxicity is apocryphal and based on anecdotal evidence.[8][2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rose, Francis (2006). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 488. ISBN 978-0-7232-5175-0. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 C. Dwight Marsh, A. B. Clawson, and G. C. Roe Jr (1929). Arrow grass as a Stock-Poisoning Plant. United States Department of Agriculture.
  3. Common Arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima)
  4. Sterry, Paul (2006). Complete British Wild Flowers. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. pp. 188. ISBN 978-0-00-781484-8. 
  5. "Triglochin maritima". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=TRMA20. Retrieved 15 December 2015. 
  6. Phillips, Roger (1994). Wild Flowers of Britain. Macmillan Reference Books. pp. 52. ISBN 0-330-25183-X. 
  7. "Triglochin maritima in Flora of North America". http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=222000441. 
  8. https://gallowaywildfoods.com/sea-arrowgrass-identification-distribution-edibility

Wikidata ☰ Q157862 entry