Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense (Jamaica swamp sawgrass)

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Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl ssp. jamaicense (Crantz) Kük.

Jamaica swamp sawgrass, sawgrass

Sawgrass. What a perfect name! The long straplike leaves are serrated on the sides, and capable of inflicting serious wounds. It forms nearly impenetrable stands, especially in the Florida Everglades. It is technically a sedge, one of a large group of grasslike species, most of which are modest in size. Sawgrass is native to the Caribbean islands and southeastern United States. It prefers limestone soils at the edges of freshwaster and brackish marshes, lakes, streams, and ponds.

Plants: Culms (stems) are 3–9½′ ⨉ ⅛–⅜″ (1–3 m ⨉ 5–10 mm).

Leaves: Alternate, flat or almost flat, like a squished diamond in cross-section, ⅛–⅜″ (5–11 mm) wide, with parallel veins.

Flowers: Spikes 12–20″ (30–50 cm) in height display 6-9 brownish flower clusters. Flowers appear from July to October.

Fruits: Achenes are light greenish brown and ovoid in shape, about 1/16 ⨉ 1/32″ (2 ⨉ 1 mm).

Habitats: In shallow, mostly freshwater swamps with rich deep organic soils, such as the Everglades.

Online References:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

JSTOR Plant Science

Flora of North America

Cladium jamaicense Crantz
Cladium leptostachyum Nees & Meyen
Mariscus jamaicensis (Crantz) Britton

4/10/2015 · Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida · ≈ 1 × 2′ (39 × 59 cm)

4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 1¼ × 1½″ (3.3 × 4.3 cm)

4/10/2015 · Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida · ≈ 1 × 2′ (39 × 59 cm)

4/11/2015 · Kirby Storter Park Boardwalk, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

4/14/2015 · Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)

4/14/2015 · Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 10 × 15″ (25 × 37 cm)

4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 1½ × 2′ (53 × 70 cm)

4/15/2015 · Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Marsh Trail, Florida · ≈ 3 × 3′ (91 × 89 cm)

4/11/2015 · Kirby Storter Park Boardwalk, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

4/11/2015 · Kirby Storter Park Boardwalk, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 7 × 9″ (18 × 23 cm)

4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 3½ × 6″ (9.6 × 14 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Commelinidae	Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order	Cyperales	Flowering plants including grasses
Family	Cyperaceae	Sedge family
Genus	Cladium	From the Greek kladion, “a small branch”
Species	mariscus	Borrowed from Ancient Greek μαρίσκος (marískos, “bog rush”)
ssp.	jamaicense	Of or from Jamaica

About plant names...

Range: Zones 3-7:

About this map...

Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.