Single Record
Participant Info
- Species
- Distichlis spicata [Distichlis stricta] [Uniola spicata]
- Family
- Poaceae
- CommonName
- salt grass, salt-grass, inland saltgrass
- Presence
- yes
- Status
- native
- EarliestDate
- 1873
- LatestDate
- 2025
- Ecosystem
- basin, foothill, ruderal, urban
- Geobotanical
- SSanjuans, UBasin, LBasin
- Counties
- Alamosa, Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache
- Passes
- WildlifePreserves
- Baca, Blanca Wetlands, Russell Lakes
- Other Localities
- Alamosa (town), Del Norte
- Comments
- Inland saltgrass, perennial and warm-season, is common around alkali salt flats in the Watershed basins, now sometimes the dominant grass there. It has also adapted to urban and highway habitats, for instance in Alamosa (Alamosa Co) and Del Norte (Rio Grande Co, Oct 2025). This encroachment of Distichlis spicata into the Valley is fairly recent. For instance, it was not recorded from Saguache Co until 1922, and from Rio Grande Co until 1931. In the USA Distichlis spicata is distributed solidly in all Western and Great Plains states. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to the Big Bend region of Texas. There are a few occurrences on down to the Gulf of Mexico. Note that normally D. spicata is dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
- Annotation