Endangered and Threatened Species of Plants and Animals found on Banning Ranch.
Saltgrass is a perennial halophyte. The subspecies, Distichlis spicata, is a California native that tolerates the alkali soil in the marsh plains and salt pans of coastal saltmarshes.
Saltgrass plants usually form a low dense mat ground cover of sprawling, large, patchy colonies that are about 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) tall. The plants can be somewhat erect. This grass has stiff, narrow, pointed blades that alternate up the stem, growing away from the base at an angle. The blades are 2.54 to 15.2 (1-6 in) long and about 6.3 mm (0.25 in) wide.
They are blue-green in color and often coated with salt crystals. Rhizomes are scaly and yellowish. Small purple or straw-colored flowers appear in the spring. The seeds are smooth and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long.
