﻿Nichols: 
  The 
  vegetation 
  of 
  Connecticut 
  

  

  529 
  

  

  Except 
  locally, 
  as 
  along 
  tidal 
  creeks 
  and 
  ditches 
  and 
  in 
  poorly 
  

   drained 
  depressions, 
  the 
  salt 
  marsh 
  grass 
  is 
  not 
  present 
  in 
  salt 
  

   meadows, 
  where 
  the 
  ground 
  ordinarily 
  is 
  flooded 
  with 
  saline 
  

   water 
  from 
  but 
  one 
  to 
  four 
  hours 
  daily, 
  and 
  then 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  

   only 
  a 
  few 
  inches. 
  Just 
  what 
  factors 
  limit 
  the 
  upward 
  distribu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  this 
  plant 
  are 
  uncertain. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  lessening 
  salinity 
  

   of 
  the 
  soil 
  water 
  (but, 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  see 
  remarks 
  on 
  p. 
  535); 
  

   it 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  relative 
  dryness 
  of 
  the 
  soil 
  at 
  higher 
  levels; 
  it 
  may 
  

  

  Fig. 
  6. 
  Salt 
  meadows, 
  showing 
  the 
  billowy 
  effect 
  produced 
  on 
  the 
  vegetation 
  

   by 
  winds 
  and 
  tidal 
  currents. 
  East 
  Haven. 
  Juncus 
  Gerardi 
  (right). 
  Spartina 
  palens 
  

   (left). 
  

  

  be 
  its 
  inability 
  to 
  compete 
  successfully 
  with 
  the 
  salt 
  meadow 
  

   grasses; 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  combination 
  of 
  factors 
  (see 
  Johnson 
  and 
  York, 
  

   '15, 
  pp. 
  48 
  et 
  seq.) 
  The 
  predominant 
  plants 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  littoral 
  

  

  {Spartina 
  patens 
  

  

  sp 
  

  

  (Juncus 
  Gerardi). 
  These 
  typically 
  form 
  a 
  luxuriant 
  meadow-like 
  

   sward 
  (Fig. 
  6). 
  But 
  while 
  the 
  three 
  sometimes 
  grow 
  intermixed, 
  

   they 
  differ 
  from 
  one 
  another 
  in 
  their 
  ecological 
  requirements 
  

  

  