Seaside arrowgrass is a perennial herb of the arrowgrass family 

 ( Scheuchzeriaceae, syn. Juncaginaceae) . Unfortunately, the com- 

 mon name arrowgrass is not entirely appropriate ; the plant, while 

 somewhat grasslike, is not, of course, a true grass ; moreover, marsh 

 arrowgrass (T. palustris] is the only North American species of this 

 genus which has 'arrow-shaped fruits. To correct this, it has been 

 suggested that podgrass be adopted as the English name for Tri- 

 glochin, T. maritima to be known as shore (or seaside) podgrass, 

 and T. palicstris as arrow podgrass or arrowpod. The generic name 

 is derived from the Greek words tri, three, and glochin, point, and 

 refers to the three points of the ripe fruit of marsh arrowgrass. The 

 specific name mcvwtima, a Latin adjective meaning belonging to or 

 found in the sea, refers to the frequent seashore habitat of this plant. 

 In North America the species occurs in salt marshes near the coast 

 from Alaska to Lower California and Mexico, and from Labrador 

 to New Jersey ; it also grows in the interior and across the continent, 

 particularly from the Great Plains westward, in wet alkaline soils, 

 along sloughs, and in wet meadows and seeps. It is also widely 

 distributed in Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It is replaced 

 by T. striata in the Southeastern States. In the western United 

 States this plant occurs from sea level up to elevations of 8,000 feet. 

 It grows in clumps or small patches and is often found covering 

 large areas, particularly in low-lying meadows utilized for hay, as, 

 for example, in Utah and Wyoming. 



Seaside arrowgrass is poisonous to cattle and sheep ; large annual 

 losses o,f cattle have been due to this plant. Deer and other game 

 animals are sometimes killed by eating arrowgrass. Heavy losses 

 of livestock have occurred on meadows after hay harvest, because 

 seaside arrowgrass revives quickly after mowing, is more prominent 

 than the second growth of the associated grasses, and furnishes an 

 abundance of saline and succulent, though poisonous, forage. 1 

 Chemical analysis of this plant shows a high common salt content; 

 lack of salt on the range would naturally lead livestock to the selec- 

 tion of this plant for their requirements. 2 Moreover, it frequently 

 lacks the flowering stalks, and its clusters of leaves are often mis- 

 taken for wiregrass. 2 Although the matter is controversial, it 

 seems prudent to avoid, as far as practical, the use of seaside arrow- 

 grass in hay. Fleming et al. 3 in 1920 presented evidence that cut and 

 dried plants of seaside arrowgrass are more deadly than the green 

 plants. Marsh et al. 1 reported in 1929 that the air-dried plant used 

 in the experimental work gradually lost most of its toxicity in dry- 

 ing, and they drew the conclusion that stock losses result only from 

 eating the green plant and that there is no danger from hay contain- 

 ing arrowgrass. They further report that the people in Goshen, 

 Utah, who have had long experience with the effect of the plant 

 on cattle, state that they have never known cases of poisoning to 



1 Marsh, C. D., Clawson, A. B., and Roe, G. C. ARROW GRASS (TRIGLOCHIN MARITIMA) 

 AS A STOCK-POISONING PLANT. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 113, 15 pp., illus. 1929. 



2 Beath, O. A., Draiz<e, J. H., and Gilbert, C. S. PLANTS POISONOUS TO LIVESTOCK. Wvo. 

 Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull 200, 84 pp., illus. 1934. 



3 Fleming, C. E., Peterson, N. F., Miller, M. R., Wright, L. H., and Louck, R. C. ARROW- 

 GRASS, A NEW STOCK-POISONING PLANT (TRIGLOCHIN MARITIMA). NCV. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 



98, 22 pp., illus. 1920. 



