Elytrigia atherica Sea Couch

A rhizomatous couch-grass which grows in the mildly saline soils in the upper reaches of saltmarshes or in the transition zone between saltmarsh and sand dune and also in brackish ditches and creeks. It is also occurs along roads that have been treated with salt. It is common and widely distributed along the coast of Britain, although it is absent from much of Scotland and the coast of mid Wales. It is very common along the coast of West Glamorgan where it often forms large, dense stands. It is similar to and easily confused with coastal ecotypes of Common Couch (Elytrigia repens) from which it differs by the presence of cilia on the outer margins of the leaf sheath. Furthermore, both species may hybridise to form a male-sterile hybrid which has been named Elytrigia x drucei.

Native