Spartina patens (Saltmeadow Cordgrass) Unity Grown

Spartina patens, typically called saltmeadow or saltmarsh cordgrass, is a wiry, upright grass found in salt and brackish water through large sections of the Atlantic coastline. Growing to 1-3' tall and occasionally taller up to 5', saltmeadow cordgrass is especially well-regarded for its tolerance of brackish water, salt spray, and high winds, making it an ideal specimen for planting on beaches for erosion control. 

Commonly found in wet, sandy soils, Spartina patens can be grown from anywhere to standing water to beaches and, thanks to a thick mat of roots, is an excellent specimen for preventing shoreline erosion and deterioration. Plants flower in mid spring and produce purple seed heads on one side of the stalk from early summer to fall, feeding a number of bird species. Though Spartina patens is a beneficial native plant on the east coast, it has become an invasive plant in some areas of the west coast, where it out-competes other native marsh grasses.