salt marsh that is easily accessible by trail 

 lies near the southern end of Assateague 

 Island, north of Toms Cove. 



As one gazes across the salt marsh, 

 from very shallow to deeper water to the 

 open water of Toms Cove, one is im- 

 pressed by a sea of grasses. The shortest 

 grass, less than one foot tall, is salt grass, 

 while other species range from about two 

 feet to nearly ten feet tall. They include 

 Virginia dropseed and several species of 

 cordgrass. The grasses form a continuous 

 cover because their aerial stems are con- 

 nected to a network of underground rhi- 

 zomes. All are able to take up saltwater 

 and exude excess salt. If you were to rub 

 your finger over a blade of salt grass and 

 then hck your finger, you would get a very 

 salty taste. 



Scattered throughout the salt marsh are 

 various wildflowers that have also devel- 

 oped one or more mechanisms to survive 

 the salty conditions. Some have succulent 

 stems that store water for use when fresh- 

 water is scarce. Probably the most un- 

 usual-looking of these is glasswort, or 

 pickleweed. This nearly leafless plant has 

 a swollen, jointed stem about eight inches 

 tall. Its tiny greenish flowers, formed in 

 conelike structures during the summer, are 

 inconspicuous, but in the autumn, the stem 

 may turn bright red. A similar-looking 

 plant with showier, pink flowers is sea 

 purslane. A third species with a succulent 

 stem is sea rocket, a member of the mus- 

 tard family, whose flowers have four 

 white-to-lavender petals. 



Other plants store freshwater in their 



Cordgrass, left, grows abundantly in a 

 salt marsh along Assateague Island. 

 Right: Virginia thistle 



Anne Heimann 



