Seaside arrowgrass has an oblong or ovoid fruit consisting of 6 

 carpels. The Klamath Indians called this plant gil-len-a. They ate 

 the parched seeds and sometimes used them as a substitute for 

 coffee. 7 



Triglochin is a small genus of herbs widely distributed in sub- 

 arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and in 

 northern Africa, growing mostly along seashores and in brackish or 

 marshy places. In addition to seaside arrowgrass, two other species 

 occur in the United States. All three are poisonous, but seaside 

 arrowgrass, because of its abundance, is most important in the West. 

 These species are perennial herbs with long, narrow, grasslike or 

 rushlike leaves which sheath the base of the plants. The greenish or 

 yellowish green flowers ? individually small and inconspicuous, are 

 borne on a leafless stalk in a long, spikelike raceme. 



Marsh arrowgrass (T. pcdus'tris} occurs in brackish marshes, bogs, 

 and alkaline meadows from Alaska to Washington and from Green- 

 land to New Brunswick and New York; it is found inland along 

 the St. John and St. Lawrence Rivers, about the Great Lakes, and 

 in the Rocky Mountain region. It also occurs in South America, 

 Europe, and Asia. It is the type species of the genus, the generic 

 name Triglochin referring to the characteristic three narrow seed 

 pods with taper-pointed tips. 



Ridged arrowgrass (T. stria! td) has only three flower (perianth) 

 parts and three anthers (instead of six) ; its fruit is globular, con- 

 sisting of three carpels, each ribbed on the back. This species has a 

 more restricted range in the United States than the other two species, 

 occurring in salt marshes in two widely separated strips: In the 

 East, from Maryland to Florida and Louisiana, and, in California, 

 from Mendocino County to Santa Barbara. It is also found in 

 Mexico and in South America, 



7 Coville, F. V. NOTES ON ran PLANTS USED BY THE KLAMATH INDIANS OP OREGON. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Bot, Contrib. U. S. Natl. Herbarium 5 : 87-108. 1897. 



