Spartina patens (Saltmarsh Hay; Saltmeadow Cordgrass) is a rhizomatous grass which forms extensive medows in saline upper interitdal habitats. The clumps of this grass often grow in whorled clumps. The leaf blades are rolled and pointed, with a wiry appearance. The plants range from 300 to 1000 mm in height, and are usually shorter in the northern part of the range.. The flowers occur on alternating branches. It is native to the Atlanitc Coast of North America from Newfoundland to Yucatan, and to Guadeloupe.and Haiti. It was first found on the West Coast in 1968 in Benicia, California on San Francisco Bay., where it occurs in a scattered colonies. Scattered colonies occur in Oregon. (establishment unknown), Puget Sound, and British Columbia. In Europe,it has been found on the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain, and the Mediterranean coasts of France and Algeria. In general, this grass is considered to have less of an invasive impact than S. alterniflora and S. anglica. Dry ballast, cargo and wetland restoration projects are possible vectors. [The genus Spartina and this species have undergone major taxonomic changes, and the status of these is unresolved. Some taxonomists have moved Spartina into the largely terrestral grass genus Sporobolus, and designated this species by a prior name pumilis However, many botanists and ecologists support keeping the the genus Spartina. (Bortolus and 37 authors 2019). The newly designated species name Sporobolus pumilis is rarely used, and most publications and government documents refer to this grass as Spartina patens]