Marsh Hay
(Spartina patens)

This other species of Spartina common in New Englands saltmarshes is also called "saltmeadow cordgrass". It's a wiry grass that forms mats every winter which forms the substrate of the marsh and will eventually become peat. It was harvested and is still harvested for hay, but even in the marsh it is important because it holds the soil and prevents erosion. Like Spartina alterniflora, S. patens lives in a distinct zone controlled by competition and stress. In fact, the next time you're bored, if you're near the ocean, go find a salt marsh, and see what I'm talking about. You'll be able to see distinct zones where each salt marsh plant lives. (Don't get confused by the really tall reed if there's one there. That's not Spartina, that's an exotic plant called Phragmites.) Don't disobey posted signs just to go in the salt marsh though...there might be birds nesting there. Note of interest: Dawson's Creek (yes, you heard me...) isn't a creek. It's a brackish river flowing through a salt marsh. Really. I checked it out. Purely scientific research...