Puccinellia distans seed

LATIN NAME: Puccinellia distans

COMMON NAME: Weeping Alkaligrass

The weeping alkaligrass droops the nodding, branched panicles over the fine, grey-green leaves along the edges of the salty ground, and the whole plant carries the fine, hardy look of the salt marsh. The hardy, perennial grass of the salty places carries the narrow, folded, grey-green leaves in the loose tufts, and the small, purplish spikelets in the long, slender, nodding, branched panicles through the summer, one of the hardy, quiet sights of the salt marsh, drawing the bees, to be followed by the many small, pale, rounded grains. The salt-tolerant tufts have a very long record as the fine, hardy grass of the salty lands, and the plant is a historic presence of the salt marsh. It is a plant of the open, sunny, light, salty, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The weeping alkaligrass is a historic subject of the plant science, and the nodding panicles keep showing up in the work on the salt-tolerant grasses. The way the small, purplish spikelets form in the long, slender, nodding, branched panicles has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the salt-tolerant grasses, the grey-green leaves and the members of the grass family. The salt tolerance and the hardy habit have also made it a fine study grass, and the weeping alkaligrass is a regular subject of the work on the nodding panicles of the salty world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The weeping alkaligrass is a hardy, useful plant of the salt marsh and the study collection. The narrow, folded, grey-green leaves in the loose tufts carry the hardy look of the salt marsh, one of the hardy, quiet sights of the salt marsh, drawing the bees, and the salt-tolerant tufts have a very long record as the fine, hardy grass of the salty lands, the hardy tufts coming to the salty verges, the reclaimed banks and the steady ground-cover of the old lands, while the small, purplish spikelets in the long, slender, nodding, branched panicles open through the summer, to be followed by the many small, pale, rounded grains. It is one of the fine choices for the salt marsh, the difficult bank and the study collection, and it has been written up in the botanical and the reclamation papers for the salt tolerance and the very long history. It is a hardy, useful plant of the open, sunny, light, salty, well-drained garden.

The alkaligrass seeds grow well in a silty, loamy mix kept lightly moist. The young tufts are hardy once they root, and they take the light, salty ground of the difficult bank well.

To grow the weeping alkaligrass from seed, sow the tiny seeds over the surface of the pot of silty, loamy soil, water gently, then keep the pot in a bright, open spot. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks, and they grow on steadily. With the sun and the light, salty ground, the nodding panicles will hang over the summer.