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Phyllospadix torreyi

Common name:	Sea Grass	Family:	Zosteraceae
Author:	S.Watson.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Alaska to California.
Habitat:	Intertidal zone; -15 m; B.C.; California., Oregon.; Mexico (Baja California).
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Torrey's Surf-grass [B], Torrey's Surfgrass [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Najadales. Eel-grass family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2m. . The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

The entire plant, including the long salty-tasting leaves, were formed into square cakes and dried as a winter food by some native North American Indian tribes[256].
Roots - raw or cooked[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Basketry.

The bleached leaves have been used to make baskets[257].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it is hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. The main problem with this plant is that it is likely to require maritime conditions and possibly also periodic inundation in salt water, so it might not be possible to cultivate the plant under normal garden conditions.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe if this is possible in a greenhouse and perhaps adding some salt to the soil. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Zosteraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Phyllospadix+torreyi
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Phyllospadix+torreyi

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.