Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth, big cordgrass 
DESCRIPTION 
Warm-season, robust, rhizomatous perennial. 
Height: 3 to 10 feet. 
Leaf blade: Flat; 1/2 to 1 inch wide; often 18 to 24 inches 
long; rough, sharp margin. 
Leaf sheath: Rounded. 
Ligule: Short membrane densely hairy. 
Stem: Thick; round ; often 3/4 inch in diameter at base. 
Seedhead: 20 to 40 spikes, each about 3 inches long; spike- 
lets about 1/2 inch long grow on one side of rachis; 
seedhead 12 to 18 inches long. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Major growth is from late March through September or Octo- 
ber. Seedheads form during fall. Base of plant remains green 
through winter. Reproduces from robust rhizomes which form 
dense colonies. 
DISTRIBUTION 
Coastal marshes along Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Primarily adapted to mineral soils in salt marshes. Tolerates 
moderate salinity and water levels that fluctuate from 4 inches 
below soil surface to 2 inches above. Closely associated with 
marshhay cordgrass and common reed. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Big cordgrass is grazed by cattle. Ducks and geese eat the tender 
shoots that grow after marshes are burned in early fall. 
For best production and plant vigor, graze big cordgrass during 
fall and winter and defer grazing during summer. 
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