WILDLIFE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SALT MARSHES 5 



(Scirpus americanus), without leafy stems, these tufts are lateral, 

 and in the larger leafy-stemmed salt-marsh bulrush (S. robustus) 

 they are terminal. From their fruiting heads can be ground out in 

 the palm large numbers of shiny brown seeds. These are eaten freely 

 by waterfowl and in some localities are an important food supply. 

 Bulrushes are a favorite food of muskrats and are used also as ma- 

 terial for the winter houses of these animals. 



MARSH HAY 



Marsh hay is a term that covers a slender cordgrass (Spartina 

 glabra), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), and a few other species. A 

 striking characteristic of marsh hay, after it has attained height 

 growth, is a "lodged" appearance, as if some force had "frozen" it 

 in the form of waves left by the last strong wind. A variety of other 

 plants may be scattered about in this zone of the salt marsh, and 

 more birds nest here than elsewhere. Flowers that may attract at- 

 tention are the marsh rosemary {Limonium carolinianum) , with its 

 delicate sprays of tiny lavender blossoms, growing all the way along 

 the coast; and sea oxeye (Borrichia frutescens), with buttonlike 

 heads, yellow in flower, purplish-brown in fruit, from Virginia 

 southward. The seeds of some of the plants, including those of salt- 

 grass and small sedges among the marsh hay, are sometimes eaten, 

 but with one exception they are not known to be of much food 

 value. The exception is arrowgrasses (Triglochin spp.), plants with 

 fleshy leaves at base and a slender stalk bearing three-parted green 

 fruits, sometimes locally important as food for wild ducks. Salt- 

 marsh hay has at times been important and thriftily harvested, but 

 now it appears to be little used. 



GLASSWORT 



A salt-marsh plant sure to attract attention is one that has fleshy, 

 watery-looking, jointed stems, and grows in places made so salt by 

 repeated flooding and evaporation that they are bare of other vege- 

 tation. Known under a variety of names as, saltwort, pickle grass, 

 or samphire (Salicornia spp.), this plant is pale green in summer 

 but turns scarlet in fall. Locally its seeds may be important as food 

 for wild ducks, and the fleshy parts are said to be cropped by wild 

 geese. 



REED 



The cosmopolitan common reed (Phragmites communis), while not 

 characteristic of strongly saline situations, grows along the landward 

 side of salt marshes and apparently has increased in recent years. 

 Reed grows to 6 to 12 feet or more high, has a strong stem, and bears 

 an ornamental tawny, plumelike head. The stems are widely used 

 for thatching and for the construction of light fences, lattices, 

 screens, and mats. It is of no use to wildlife except for cover. 



OTHER VEGETATION 



The zone of transition from marsh to upland vegetation contains 

 such growths as rosemallow {Hibiscus moscheutos) with pink flowers 

 some inches across; the groundselbush {Baccharis halimifolia) covered 

 in fall with the glistening white parachute hairs of its seeds ; switch- 



