ID Help please! Grass or sedge from northern BC beach

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by Miki S, Nov 26, 2015.

  1. Miki S

    Miki S New Member

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    Vancouver, BC
    Hello,
    I went on a research trip to Douglas Channel in April of this year and did beach quadrats to identify intertidal flora and fauna. There was a lot of this grass in the upper intertidal zones of tidal flats, but unfortunately we are all marine biologists, and unfamiliar with terrestrial, vascular plants. This grass obviously thrives in salty environments as it was often mixed with barnacles and Fucus.The quadrats in the photos are 50 cm square.
    Kitsaway_041915.jpg Fishtrap_042015a.jpg Fishtrap_042015b.jpg
    I am not sure whether the short grass shoots in the first photo are the same species as the longer ones in the other two photos. I suspect that later in the summer both grasses will be taller and straighter.
    An Internet image search suggests it could be Deschampsia cespinosa, but it could also be some kind of sedge. Any help would be much appreciated!
    Thank you!!
     
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    General appearance and situation make a Deschampsia seem likely but without any flower or seed heads being shown...
     
  3. Miki S

    Miki S New Member

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    Thank you Ron,
    Yes I know, we went in April and it's highly unlikely that we'd get back up there again any time soon. Hoping to find similar plants around Vancouver to compare.
     

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