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The Spartina Project is managed by a consortium of concerned conservation leaders. As a group we are committed to the preservation of aquatic habitats through monitoring, restoration, research, education and public bc shoreline Invasion involvement. Since the discovery of Spartina anglica in Boundary Bay in 2003, staff, partners and volunteers have begun the annual task of mapping and manually Spartina spp. removing this alien invader from local shorelines. Common name: Cordgrass Spartina Ducks Unlimited canada Spartina spp.(spar-TIE-na) are aggressive invasive DISTINGUISHING FEATURES —River Works Please use this ID card plant species that invade intertidal zones such as • Perennial, salt-tolerant grass B.C. Ministry of Environment to help us stop mudflats and beaches. These species can out-compete G.L. Williams & Associates Ltd. the Spartina invasion native plants to the extent that huge areas are covered • Bright green to grayish green Community Mapping Network in Spartina alone. The result is a loss of fish, shellfish • Round, hollow stems and bird habitat, and a potential decline in native Corporation of Delta • Fine hairs at the ligule, plant and animal populations and overall biodiversity. City of Surrey Certain species, such as Spartina anglica, also threaten which is a thin outgrowth Vancouver Port Authority a change in tidal patterns as their rhizomes (root at the junction of leaf system) trap sediment, increasing risk of flooding. and leafstalk regional district • Species originate in England, Friends of Semiahmoo Bay If you think you have found Spartina, or are interested Chile, and Eastern US Seagrass Conservation Working Group s in getting your organization involved, contact River Works m Fisheries and Oceans Canada

at tel: 604.659.3503 or email: [email protected]. illia Langley Environmental Partners Society .L. W .L. For more information about Spartina, G Puget Sound Action Team check out our website: hy : People for Puget Sound rap

www.spartina.ca og t funded by environment canada—

Pho invasive alien species partnership program Spartina anglica Spartina densiflora Spartina patens Distichlis spicata English Cordgrass Dense Flowered Cordgrass Saltmeadow Cordgrass Seashore Saltgrass

DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION Don’t mistake this native grass • Leaves: flat when fresh, 5-12mm wide • Leaves: grayish, rolled inwards when fresh, • Leaves: rolled inwards when fresh, for Spartina! It's similar in appearance to Spartina and 5-40cm long 4-8mm wide and 12-43cm long 1-4mm wide and 10-50cm long spp., but with several important differences: • Stems: tall, often reddish, up to 1.5m high • Stems: up to 1.5m high • Stems: thin and flexible, up to 1.2m in height • Leaves: yellowish-green, 2-4mm wide • Flower heads: resemble wheat, consisting • Flower heads: 2–13 spikes, 60o from central axis • Flower heads: droopy and reddish in colour • Stems: solid (not hollow), and short of 2-12 “spikes” on one side only • Growth pattern: dense tufts • Growth pattern: forms dense mats (10-40cm in height) • Growth pattern: circular clumps or clones • Growth pattern: dense patches o ECOLOGY ECOLOGY • Distinctive 45-90 angle between • Ligule: has ridge with very small, • Habitat: cobble beaches and salt marshes, • Habitat: high marsh zone leaf blades and stem dense bristles rather than fine hairs in the mid- to high-marsh zone • Flowering period: late summer ECOLOGY • Flowering period: April through July ECOLOGY • Habitat: ranges from mixed-vegetation • S. densiflora has not yet been observed LOCATED (TO DATE) • Habitat: salt marshes and seashores marsh to mudflats where few other to out-compete native species, but must • Comox area on Vancouver Island species will grow be monitored as it has the potential to do so and in North Vancouver LOCATED (TO DATE) • Flowering period: June through September • Native to LOCATED (TO DATE) LOCATED (TO DATE) • Fanny Bay and Ship’s Point on Vancouver Island • delta mudflats