Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Agropyron peruvianum, Brachypodium peruvianumRoem. Brizopyrum americanum, Â Brizopyrum ovatum, more in SEINET.
Other common names
desert saltgrass
inland saltgrass
marsh spikegrass
seashore saltgrass
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
Yes
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Cool
Warm
Found in moist saline soils below 6,000 ft.
Plant Community
Riparian
Low elevation
1000
High elevation
6000
General Description
Often forms dense mats and groundcover where it occurs due to high branching, stolons and rhizomes; distinguished by the flattened spikelets with many florets and leaves arranged alternately in two opposite vertical rows.
Unisexual flowers, male and female flowers on separate plants; extensive, tough, thick rhizomes; seedhead stem usually under 12 inches; seedhead of contracted branches; spikelets 5 to 18 or more, flattened, closely overlapping and awnless.
Grass type
Perennial mat or sod-forming
Rhizomes
Yes
Stolons
Yes
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead terminal, branched, 3/4 to 2-3/4 inches long, often crowded with 2 to 20 spikelets. Female floret lacks an awn, male floret is similar to the female floret but with a thinner lemma, a narrower palea and 3 anthers.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Leaf blade width to 1/4 inch; scattered, hairy; blades stiff, flattened at base, sharp pointed, coarse, spaced along the entire length of the stem; leaves folded in the bud.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Membranous and hairy
Auricles
No
Saltgrass is of low palatability for livestock and big game. If grazed alone in the fall or winter, saltgrass can cause compaction in cattle.