Index / Search / Distichlis spicata
§1 Plant
Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene
vernacular saltgrass — species · Poaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Monocot
- Family
- Poaceae Barnhart
- Genus
- Distichlis
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- HI Hawaii Introduced
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 656 counties across 39 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Medium
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- High
- Anaerobic
- High
- CaCO₃
- High
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -35 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 80 min.
- Precipitation
- 5–70 in/yr
- pH range
- 6.4–10
- Root depth
- 2 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Lifespan
- Long
- Mature height
- 1.1 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Mid Summer
- Seed abundance
- Low
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 519,000
- Propagation
- sprigs
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 656 counties across 39 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 10 N ▾
California view state ↗ 44 N ▾
- Alameda 06001
- Butte 06007
- Calaveras 06009
- Contra Costa 06013
- Fresno 06019
- Glenn 06021
- Humboldt 06023
- Imperial 06025
- Inyo 06027
- Kern 06029
- Lake 06033
- Lassen 06035
- Los Angeles 06037
- Madera 06039
- Marin 06041
- Mendocino 06045
- Merced 06047
- Modoc 06049
- Mono 06051
- Monterey 06053
- Napa 06055
- Nevada 06057
- Orange 06059
- Placer 06061
- Plumas 06063
- Riverside 06065
- Sacramento 06067
- San Bernardino 06071
- San Diego 06073
- San Francisco 06075
- San Luis Obispo 06079
- San Mateo 06081
- Santa Barbara 06083
- Santa Clara 06085
- Santa Cruz 06087
- Shasta 06089
- Siskiyou 06093
- Solano 06095
- Sonoma 06097
- Stanislaus 06099
- Sutter 06101
- Tulare 06107
- Ventura 06111
- Yolo 06113
Colorado view state ↗ 37 N ▾
- Adams 08001
- Alamosa 08003
- Arapahoe 08005
- Baca 08009
- Bent 08011
- Boulder 08013
- Cheyenne 08017
- Clear Creek 08019
- Crowley 08025
- Denver 08031
- Douglas 08035
- Eagle 08037
- El Paso 08041
- Fremont 08043
- Grand 08049
- Jackson 08057
- Kiowa 08061
- Kit Carson 08063
- Las Animas 08071
- Lincoln 08073
- Logan 08075
- Mesa 08077
- Mineral 08079
- Moffat 08081
- Otero 08089
- Park 08093
- Prowers 08099
- Pueblo 08101
- Rio Blanco 08103
- Rio Grande 08105
- Saguache 08109
- San Juan 08111
- San Miguel 08113
- Sedgwick 08115
- Washington 08121
- Weld 08123
- Yuma 08125
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 23 N ▾
- Brevard 12009
- Citrus 12017
- Collier 12021
- Dixie 12029
- Duval 12031
- Escambia 12033
- Flagler 12035
- Franklin 12037
- Hernando 12053
- Indian River 12061
- Lee 12071
- Levy 12075
- Miami-Dade 12086
- Monroe 12087
- Palm Beach 12099
- Pasco 12101
- Pinellas 12103
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Sarasota 12115
- St. Johns 12109
- Taylor 12123
- Volusia 12127
- Wakulla 12129
Georgia view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 17 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 59 N ▾
- Barber 20007
- Barton 20009
- Cheyenne 20023
- Clark 20025
- Clay 20027
- Cloud 20029
- Comanche 20033
- Decatur 20039
- Dickinson 20041
- Edwards 20047
- Ellis 20051
- Finney 20055
- Ford 20057
- Gove 20063
- Graham 20065
- Grant 20067
- Greeley 20071
- Hamilton 20075
- Harper 20077
- Jackson 20085
- Jewell 20089
- Kearny 20093
- Kingman 20095
- Lane 20101
- Lincoln 20105
- Logan 20109
- Lyon 20111
- Marion 20115
- McPherson 20113
- Meade 20119
- Mitchell 20123
- Morton 20129
- Norton 20137
- Osborne 20141
- Pawnee 20145
- Phillips 20147
- Pratt 20151
- Rawlins 20153
- Reno 20155
- Republic 20157
- Rice 20159
- Riley 20161
- Rooks 20163
- Rush 20165
- Russell 20167
- Saline 20169
- Scott 20171
- Sedgwick 20173
- Seward 20175
- Sheridan 20179
- Sherman 20181
- Smith 20183
- Stafford 20185
- Sumner 20191
- Thomas 20193
- Trego 20195
- Wallace 20199
- Wichita 20203
- Woodson 20207
Louisiana view state ↗ 17 N ▾
Maryland view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Arthur 31005
- Banner 31007
- Box Butte 31013
- Brown 31017
- Buffalo 31019
- Cass 31025
- Cherry 31031
- Cheyenne 31033
- Custer 31041
- Dawes 31045
- Dawson 31047
- Deuel 31049
- Dundy 31057
- Frontier 31063
- Garden 31069
- Grant 31075
- Hall 31079
- Hitchcock 31087
- Holt 31089
- Kearney 31099
- Keith 31101
- Kimball 31105
- Lancaster 31109
- Lincoln 31111
- Merrick 31121
- Morrill 31123
- Nuckolls 31129
- Otoe 31131
- Phelps 31137
- Red Willow 31145
- Richardson 31147
- Rock 31149
- Scotts Bluff 31157
- Sheridan 31161
- Sioux 31165
- Stanton 31167
- Valley 31175
- Webster 31181
Nevada view state ↗ 14 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 2 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 8 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 24 N ▾
- Bernalillo 35001
- Catron 35003
- Chaves 35005
- Cibola 35006
- Colfax 35007
- De Baca 35011
- Dona Ana 35013
- Eddy 35015
- Grant 35017
- Lincoln 35027
- McKinley 35031
- Mora 35033
- Otero 35035
- Quay 35037
- Rio Arriba 35039
- Roosevelt 35041
- San Juan 35045
- San Miguel 35047
- Sandoval 35043
- Santa Fe 35049
- Sierra 35051
- Socorro 35053
- Taos 35055
- Valencia 35061
New York view state ↗ 9 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 10 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 43 N ▾
- Adams 38001
- Barnes 38003
- Benson 38005
- Billings 38007
- Bottineau 38009
- Bowman 38011
- Burke 38013
- Burleigh 38015
- Cass 38017
- Dickey 38021
- Divide 38023
- Dunn 38025
- Emmons 38029
- Foster 38031
- Golden Valley 38033
- Grant 38037
- Hettinger 38041
- Kidder 38043
- LaMoure 38045
- Logan 38047
- McIntosh 38051
- McKenzie 38053
- McLean 38055
- Morton 38059
- Mountrail 38061
- Oliver 38065
- Pembina 38067
- Pierce 38069
- Ramsey 38071
- Ransom 38073
- Renville 38075
- Richland 38077
- Rolette 38079
- Sargent 38081
- Sheridan 38083
- Sioux 38085
- Slope 38087
- Stark 38089
- Stutsman 38093
- Walsh 38099
- Ward 38101
- Wells 38103
- Williams 38105
Oklahoma view state ↗ 20 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 5 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 23 N ▾
- Beadle 46005
- Brule 46015
- Buffalo 46017
- Butte 46019
- Charles Mix 46023
- Codington 46029
- Corson 46031
- Custer 46033
- Davison 46035
- Day 46037
- Fall River 46047
- Gregory 46053
- Harding 46063
- Jackson 46071
- Jerauld 46073
- Jones 46075
- Kingsbury 46077
- Mellette 46095
- Pennington 46103
- Spink 46115
- Stanley 46117
- Todd 46121
- Tripp 46123
Texas view state ↗ 55 N ▾
- Anderson 48001
- Aransas 48007
- Bailey 48017
- Bexar 48029
- Borden 48033
- Brazoria 48039
- Brewster 48043
- Brown 48049
- Calhoun 48057
- Cameron 48061
- Chambers 48071
- Comanche 48093
- Crane 48103
- Crosby 48107
- Dallam 48111
- Deaf Smith 48117
- Dickens 48125
- El Paso 48141
- Galveston 48167
- Gillespie 48171
- Hall 48191
- Hardeman 48197
- Harris 48201
- Hemphill 48211
- Hockley 48219
- Hudspeth 48229
- Hutchinson 48233
- Jackson 48239
- Jeff Davis 48243
- Jefferson 48245
- Kenedy 48261
- Lamb 48279
- Lubbock 48303
- Lynn 48305
- Mason 48319
- Matagorda 48321
- Motley 48345
- Nueces 48355
- Pecos 48371
- Potter 48375
- Presidio 48377
- Randall 48381
- Reagan 48383
- Reeves 48389
- Refugio 48391
- Roberts 48393
- Runnels 48399
- San Patricio 48409
- Sherman 48421
- Stonewall 48433
- Terrell 48443
- Webb 48479
- Wheeler 48483
- Wichita 48485
- Willacy 48489
Utah view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Beaver 49001
- Box Elder 49003
- Cache 49005
- Carbon 49007
- Daggett 49009
- Davis 49011
- Duchesne 49013
- Emery 49015
- Garfield 49017
- Grand 49019
- Iron 49021
- Juab 49023
- Kane 49025
- Millard 49027
- Piute 49031
- Rich 49033
- Salt Lake 49035
- San Juan 49037
- Sanpete 49039
- Sevier 49041
- Tooele 49045
- Uintah 49047
- Utah 49049
- Washington 49053
- Wayne 49055
- Weber 49057
Virginia view state ↗ 21 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Essex 51057
- Gloucester 51073
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lancaster 51103
- Mathews 51115
- Middlesex 51119
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Richmond 51159
- Surry 51181
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- York 51199
Washington view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Adams 53001
- Benton 53005
- Chelan 53007
- Clallam 53009
- Douglas 53017
- Ferry 53019
- Franklin 53021
- Grant 53025
- Grays Harbor 53027
- Island 53029
- Jefferson 53031
- King 53033
- Kitsap 53035
- Kittitas 53037
- Klickitat 53039
- Lincoln 53043
- Mason 53045
- Okanogan 53047
- Pacific 53049
- San Juan 53055
- Skagit 53057
- Snohomish 53061
- Spokane 53063
- Thurston 53067
- Whatcom 53073
- Whitman 53075
- Yakima 53077
Wisconsin view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Wyoming view state ↗ 20 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/DISP ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2704509 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z