Fimbristylis spadicea

Marsh fimbry
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Cyperaceae
Genus:	Fimbristylis
Species:	F. spadicea
Binomial name
Fimbristylis spadicea (L.) Vahl
Synonyms [1]
Synonymy Eleogiton spadicea(L.) A.Dietr. Iria spadicea(L.) Kuntze Iria spadicea var. normalisKuntze Schoenus spadiceus(L.) Vahl Scirpus spadiceusL. (1753) (basionym) Fimbristylis castanea(Michx.) Vahl Fimbristylis cylindricaVahl Fimbristylis pallidulaKral Fimbristylis riehleanaSteud. Fimbristylis spadicea var. castanea(Michx.) A.Gray Fimbristylis spadicea var. depauperataT.Koyama Fimbristylis spadicea f. domingensis(Pers.) Kük. Fimbristylis spadicea var. longestigmataZavaro Fimbristylis speciosaRohde ex Spreng. Fimbristylis sterilisNees Fimbristylis umbellataSchrad. ex Nees Iria castanea(Michx.) Farw. Iria spadicea var. nigraKuntze Iria spadicea var. pallidaKuntze Iria umbellata(Schrad. ex Nees) Kuntze Scirpus castaneusMichx. Scirpus cylindraceusWilld. ex Kunth Scirpus cylindricus(Vahl) Poir. Scirpus dichotomusG.Mey. Scirpus domingensisPers. Scirpus sterilisSalzm. ex Steud.

Fimbristylis spadicea, commonly known as marsh fimbry or saltmarsh fimbristylis, is a perennial sedge of the family Cyperaceae. It is native to the coastal Americas from New York and northwestern Mexico to northeastern Argentina and Peru. ^[1]

The species was first described as Scirpus spadiceus by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. In 1805 Martin Vahl placed it in the newly-described genus Fimbristylis as Fimbristylis spadicea. The species has over two dozen synonyms. ^[1]

Description

Fimbristylis spadicea commonly grows up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height, forming thick clumps. ^[2] Its narrow leaves grow from the base of the plant. They are dark brown and sturdy at the base and grow from one half to two thirds of the plant's height in length. ^[3] The small flowers of the sedge are hidden behind dark, glossy, brown scales that form budlike spikelets. ^[4]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas. On the Atlantic coast it ranges from New York to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts, and to Argentina's Rio de la Plata estuary. ^{[1] [5] [6]} On the Pacific coast it ranges from northwestern Mexico to Peru. ^[1]

It commonly grows in salt marshes coastal dunes, and brackish marsh inland, especially near wharves. ^[3]

References

1. "Fimbristylis spadicea (L.) Vahl". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 4 August 2025.
2. Roy L. Lehman (2013). Marine Plants of the Texas Coast (illustrated ed.). Texas A&M University Press. p. 45. ISBN   9781623490164.
3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed. (2003). Flora of North America: Volume 23: Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in Part): Cyperaceae (illustrated, reprint ed.). OUP USA. p. 149. ISBN   9780195152074.
4. Ralph W. Tiner (2009). Field Guide to Tidal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern United States and Neighboring Canada: Vegetation of Beaches, Tidal Flats, Rocky Shores, Marshes, Swamps, and Coastal Ponds (illustrated, revised ed.). Univ of Massachusetts Press. p.  218. ISBN   9781558496675.
5. "Fimbristylis castanea (Michx.) Vahl marsh fimbry". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
6. Nathaniel Lord Britton, Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States: Canada and the British Possessions from Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian; Volume 1 of An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions from Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian, Addison Brown. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 320.