Borrer's Saltmarsh-grass
Puccinellia fasciculata
Puccinellia fasciculata, or Borrer's saltmarsh grass, is an annual grass native to coasts of Europe and introduced to the northern east coast of North America. Its diploid number is 28.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puccinellia_fasciculata
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Liliopsida
Order
Poales
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Puccinellia
Borrer's Saltmarsh-grass belongs to the family Poaceae, order Poales, within the Liliopsida class.
Species Profile
Puccinellia fasciculata, or Borrer's saltmarsh grass, is an annual grass native to coasts of Europe and introduced to the northern east coast of North America. Its diploid number is 28.
Borrer's Saltmarsh-grass faces severe decline primarily due to coastal development and habitat destruction of its specialized saltmarsh environments. Sea level rise and increased storm intensity associated with climate change further threaten the remaining fragmented populations by altering salinity levels and flooding patterns in critical breeding areas.
Key Facts
Habitat & Distribution
Puccinellia fasciculata prefers sandy and saline seashores from Nova Scotia to Virginia in North America, though it is native to Europe. It can also be found at a few individual sites in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. All occurrences of the species in North America are likely introductions of the species to the region by humans.
Threats
IUCN Red List: Endangered
Borrer's Saltmarsh-grass faces severe decline primarily due to coastal development and habitat destruction of its specialized saltmarsh environments. Sea level rise and increased storm intensity associated with climate change further threaten the remaining fragmented populations by altering salinity levels and flooding patterns in critical breeding areas.
Coastal development and urbanization
Habitat fragmentation
Sea level rise and coastal erosion
Changes in hydrology and salinity regimes
Invasive plant species competition
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Borrer's Saltmarsh-grass (Puccinellia fasciculata). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/borrers-saltmarsh-grass