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Spartina

Spartina

9.3
A group of grasses that grow in freshwater swamps and salt marshes
  • noun
  • /spɑːrˈtiːnə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Spartina
  • Spartina grass

Examples

  • Seen from aboard the Dream Girl, Rhodes Point seems an impossibility: a finger of green, thin as a blade of spartina, on which are perched like aphids little gabled homes.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The spartina grasses provide essential habitat for many species in the coastal marshes.

  • In the wetlands, dense patches of spartina thrive, supporting local wildlife and preventing erosion.

  • The park is known for its beautiful landscape, highlighted by the tall stands of spartina along the water's edge.

Synonyms

cord grass
vsSpartina
  • Specialized
7.2

A tall grass that grows in marshes near the sea and helps hold the soil

is the formal scientific genus name for the same plants

Compounds

Spartina cynosuroides
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall grass like reeds that grows in salty coastal marshes

Spartina pectinmata
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall grass that grows in North American salt marshes

Surface Forms

Spartina singular
Spartinas plural

Etymology

Spartina comes from an old word spart- meaning 'rope' or 'broom', because these grasses were linked to strong fibres used like cords. So Spartina are the strong, cord-like marsh grasses that help hold soil and plants in place.