Zostera “eel grass”

1. Zostera “eel grass” Zostera beds are important for sediment deposition, substrate stabilization, as substrate for epiphytic algae and micro-invertebrates, and as nursery grounds for many species of economically important fish and shellfish. Zostera often beds in bay mud in the estuarine setting.Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating.

2. Spartina: “cordgrass” • A deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands • Cordgrass grows out into the water at the seaward edge of a salt marsh, and accumulates sediment and enables other habitat-engineering species, such as mussels, to settle. • It is very tolerant to low temp and salty environments which in some cases has led it to be an invasive species

3. Glasswort: Salicornia • Very common marsh grass • European relatives sequester salt and their tissues were used to make glass and soda ash • The glassworts are succulent, annual "halophytes", or plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes.

4. Sawgrass: Cladium • It has spiny, serrated leaf blades that resemble a saw. • Saw-grass is found primarily in southeastern coastal areas from Virginia to Florida and as far west as the Texas Gulf coast. It’s most abundant across southern Florida where shallow soils cover limerock and there is standing or slow moving water. • Saw-grass is actually a sedge, not a true grass. Sedges have triangular shaped stems whereas true grasses have round stems.

5. Spike grass: Distichlis • Spikegrass is a common enough plant to be found, sprinkled in various areas of salt marsh. Spikegrass may also be found in a sturdy line by the water. It has long pale green stems which are how Spikegrass got it's name. Spikegrass, unlike a lot of other salt marsh plants, can with-stand the salt which comes in through the tides. This plant is eaten by the geese living in the midst of the marsh.

6. Sea oats: Uniola • Sea oats usually is the most conspicuous plant growing on the sand dunes behind wave-washed beaches along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. It grows from underground stems (called rhizomes) in elongate colonies where the winds shift and swirl the sand. • Extremely salt tolerant, sea oats is often used in dune stabilization programs because its extensive system of underground stems and roots helps reduce erosion.