Salt Couch

Salt Couch photos

Family: Grass (Poaceae syn. Gramineae)

Scientific Name:

Sporobolus virginicus

Salt Couch
Photo: A J Brown

Other Common Name:

Marine Couch

Status:

Native to Australia but also common around the coastlands of all warm-temperate and tropical countries.

Plant Description:

Perennial grass with long rhizomes and erect tufts to 20 cm high; bright green leaves arranged in two opposite rows, rigid, smooth, hairless but with hairs at the base of the blade and ligule to 0.5 mm long with a row of short hairs, blade to 5 cm long, inrolled in upper part and sharply pointed but not prickly.

Inflorescence, a narrow spike-like panicle, 1-6 cm long and 4-9 mm wide. Spikelets 2-3 mm long, shiny, leaden-grey, single flowered.

Habitat:

Common to coastal marshes but scattered on saline flats, swamp edges and drainage lines in the western part of the Victorian Volcanic Plain, the Dundas Tablelands and into the southern Wimmera.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S2, S3, S4	W2, W3

Comments:

Similar to the inland grass, Rat’s-tail Couch (S. mitchellii) but is more salt tolerant. Also has a similar appearance to Australian Salt-grass (Distichlis distichophylla) but doesn’t have the very regular ‘fish-bone’ leaf arrangement or the prickly leaves of that species.

See Comments under Australian Salt-grass (Distichlis distichophylla) for leaf differences between this species and other similar creeping grasses.

Salt Couch Photos

Salt Couch plants Photo: A J Brown	Salt Couch plants Photo: A J Brown
Salt Couch leaves Photo: A J Brown	Salt Counch mature spike Photo: A J Brown
Salt Couch stolons Photo: A J Brown	Salt Couch flowering spike Photo: A J Brown

Page top