Saltmarsh Cordgrass
Spartina alterniflora
Found in salt marshes. S. alterniflorus is the dominant plant (often essentially a monoculture) of intratidal salt and brackish marshes in our area. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- About 3.5 feet
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- Late spring
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 3 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- King RailRallus elegans
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Palm WarblerDendroica palmarum
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Who uses this plant?
15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Spartina
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Doryodes bistrialisDouble-Lined Doryodes
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Leucania linitaReed Wainscot, Linen Wainscot
- Leucanopsis longaLong-Streaked Tussock Moth
- Mocis texanaTexas Mocis
- Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
- Panoquina panoquinSalt Marsh Skipper
Show all 15
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Poanes aaroniAaron's Skipper
- Automeris louisiana
- Chilo plejadellus
- Photedes enervata
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Spartina
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 3.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Also known as
Sporobolus alterniflorus
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications