Thinopyrum junceiforme

Common Name(s)

sand couch, sand couch-grass, Russian wheatgrass, sea wheatgrass

Synonym(s)

Triticum farctum, Agropyron farcatum, Elytrigia farcta, Thinopyrum junceum - accepted name with GRIN and CNPLX, Agropyron junceum, Agropyron junceum subsp. mediterraneum, Elytrigia juncea, Elytrigia juncea subsp. juncea, Elytrigia juncea subsp. mediterranea, Triticum junceum, Elymus farctus ssp. boreali-atlanticus, Elytrigia juncea ssp. boreali-atlantica, Elymus multinodus, Elytrigia juncea ssp. boreoatlantica, Agropyron bessarabicum, Agropyron farctum, Agropyron × hackelii [Invalid], Agropyron junceiforme, Agropyron junceum var. bessarabicum, Agropyron junceum subsp. boreali-atlanticum, Agropyron junceum var. mediterraneum, Agropyron junceum subsp. sartori, Agropyron junceum var. sartori, Agropyron rechingeri, Agropyron sartorii, Braconotia juncea, Bromus truncatus, Elymus farctus var. sartorii, Elymus farctus var. striatulus, Elymus junceus subsp. bessarabicus, Elymus rechingeri, Elymus striatulus, Elytrigia bessarabica, Elytrigia juncea subsp. bessarabica, Elytrigia juncea subsp. boreoatlantica, Elytrigia juncea var. sartorii, Elytrigia junceiformis, Elytrigia mediterranea, Elytrigia rechingeri, Elytrigia sartorii, Elytrigia striatula, Festuca juncea, Frumentum junceum, Thinopyrum bessarabicum, Thinopyrum junceiforme, Thinopyrum junceum subsp. mediterraneum, Thinopyrum runemarkii, Thinopyrum sartorii, Triticum glaucum [Illegitimate], Triticum litoreum, Triticum sartorii

Is this plant a cultivar? No

Life History: Perennial

Growth Form: grass

Native Range

Africa Northern Africa: Algeria; Egypt; Libya; Morocco; Tunisia Asia-Temperate Caucasus: Georgia Western Asia: Cyprus; Israel; Lebanon; Syria; Turkey Europe East Europe: Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania; Ukraine Middle Europe: Belgium; Germany; Netherlands; Poland Northern Europe: Denmark; Faroe Islands; Finland; Ireland; Norway; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; United Kingdom Southeastern Europe: Albania; Bulgaria; Croatia; Greece; Italy; Romania; Slovenia Southwestern Europe: France; Portugal; Spain

Plant Description

Elymus farctus is a perennial grass, dominating the Mediterranean coastal sands of Egypt.

History as an Ornamental

Sea wheatgrass was first recorded in Australian herbarium records in 1933, with a specimen collected from Ricketts Point, Victoria (MEL 0626849A). It may well have arrived much earlier, in ballast or cargo from the Windjammers, or sailing vessels, which plied between Europe and southern Australia from the 1830s through to 1950 (South Australia Maritime Museum n.d.). Australian herbarium records show that the first sea wheatgrass collections from other states were from Rocky Cape, Tasmania in 1948 (HO77017) and the Long Beach sand dunes, South Australia in 1983 (AD98409214).

External Resources

GBIF Link

GBIF Species Page

USDA Plants Database

USDA Plants Database page

Tropicos Link

Tropicos Species Page

Additional Web Resources

GRIN

CNPLX

Polymeria

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