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Triglochin maritima

Common name:	Sea Arrow Grass	Family:	Juncaginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The green leaves of plants can contain a toxic cyanogenic glycoside, it is especially present during and just after a drought and is particularly toxic to ruminants[76, 85]. Plants growing in Britain are usually perfectly safe, this is probably due to the climate[76].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from the Arctic south and east to N. Africa, W. and N. Asia. N. America.
Habitat:	Salt marshes and grassy places near the sea[9, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. concinnum var. debile[B,P] T. debile[B,P] T. elatum[B,P] T. maritimum[B,,P] T. maritimum var. elatum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Arrowgrass [E], Schorrenzoutgras [D], Sea Arrowgrass [L], Seaside Arrow-grass [B], Seaside Arrowgrass [L,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	maritima = on the sea-coast
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Najadales. Arrow-grass family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. 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 neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Coffee Seed Stem.

The white base of the leaf stem can be eaten raw or cooked[46, 61, 85, 103]. Best harvested in late spring, the white base has a pleasant mild sweet taste, somewhat like cucumber[256]. An unpleasant odour is produced whilst the plant is being cooked[74]. The green parts of the plant should not be eaten since they can contain a toxin[172]. Only the bases of leaf stems should be used, and not the bases of flowering stems[256]. See notes at top of the page.
Seed - parched and ground into a powder[85, 105, 161, 172, 257].
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[161, 172, 212].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Soap making.

The ashes of the plant are rich in potassium and can be used in making soap[74].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in shallow water or a bog garden[200]. Possibly requires saline conditions[K].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible. Stand the pots in about 2cm of water. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[200]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Triglochin maritimum (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for triglochin maritima (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Juncaginaceae.

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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[103] Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217674-9
Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[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.

Readers Comments

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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.
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