02 June 2011

Arrowgrasses

Arrowgrasses belong to the family Juncaginaceae and there are two species found in the UK, both of which appear in Gower. Sea Arrowgrass (Triglochin maritimum) is a strictly coastal species found most abundantly on saltmarshes. Marsh Arrowgrass (T. palustre) is widespread, but thinly distributed in marshes and flushes. Where springs open up on the upper saltmarsh, as is the case along the base of the north Gower bluff, the two species can occasionally be found growing together, as I discovered in the fields below Leason Wood on Monday.
Sea Arrowgrass left and Marsh Arrowgrass
Sea Arrowgrass distribution in West Glamorgan
Marsh Arrowgrass distribution in West Glamorgan
Flower detail of the two species:

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