Common Cordgrass

Common Cordgrass, Spartina anglica.  Riverside Country Park, 10 August 2012.

Not much is happening at the moment except lichens and fungi (OK, birds too, but I am not a bird photographer).  So here is one from the seaside, earlier in the year.

Common Cordgrass is a new species, resulting from cross-pollination of two related species.  One parent, Spartina maritima, is native to the UK, and the other, Spartina alterniflora, was introduced from America.  Most hybrids are sterile, but some plants can overcome this by multiplying their chromosomes.  That happened quite naturally in this case, and it is now able to reproduce itself.  This species did not exist before the late 19th century.  I find that remarkable.

Common Cordgrass, Spartina anglica.  Riverside Country Park, 10 August 2012.
The inset shows the stipule.