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Wildflower Wednesday: Perennial Salt Marsh Aster

Wildflower Wednesday: Perennial Salt Marsh Aster

When most people think of salt marshes, they probably picture large expanses of nothing but grass. For those with a little more familiarity with marshes, you may go so far as to picture the common species of salt marsh plants, including smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), salt marsh hay (Spartina patens) or common glasswort (Salicornia maritima). But if you look closely, you may also find other interesting plants mixed in. This is what happened to me on a recent walk out…

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Marsh elder (Iva frutescens)

Marsh elder (Iva frutescens)

When asked to picture a New England salt marsh, most people would likely think of large expanses of salt marsh grass, such as smooth cord grass  (Spartina alterniflora) and salt marsh hay (Spartina patens). However, at the upper edge of most marshes, where only the highest high tides reach, is a thin strip of short shrubs, dominated by marsh elder (Iva frutescens) and/or eastern baccharis (Baccharis halimifolia). In fact, due to its placement on the landscape, marsh elder is also…

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Animal tracks: Raccoon

Animal tracks: Raccoon

Thoughts of salt marsh wildlife typically evoke images of great blue herons, ospreys, hermit crabs and various species of fish. Seldom due people consider the mammals that inhabit a salt marsh, particularly during low tide when the exposed marsh platform and mud flats provide considerable opportunities for foraging, but many mammals do regularly utilize these habitats for foraging, including raccoons. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are found everywhere in Massachusetts, except on Nantucket. Although we’re all familiar with raccoons’ reputation as masked…

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Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)

Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)

Visit a salt marsh anywhere in Massachusetts and what you’ll see is an assemblage of grass species, largely indistinguishable from each other to the casual passerby. Although difficult to tell apart from a distance, and sometimes difficult even up close when their flowers or seeds are not present, salt marshes are generally comprised of a variety of species. One of the most common, however, is smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). S. alterniflora grows 2 to 6 feet high and is typically…

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Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

There are fresh water turtles (e.g., snapping turtles, red-eared sliders, painted turtles, etc.), there are sea turtles (e.g., leatherback turtles, green turtles, kemp’s ridley turtles, etc.) that live in salt water, and then there are diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin). Terrapins are the only turtle in North America found brackish coastal tidal marshes, with Cape Cod marking the northernmost extent of their range. Terrapins can tolerate short periods of below freezing temperatures, but not for more than a week or two,…

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Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)

Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)

Although most people just notice a sea of grasses when they look at a salt marsh, there are many other organisms that make their home in and among these plants. While many of these animals, such as fiddler crabs and snails are less commonly seen as the weather gets colder, there are others, like the ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) that are not as mobile; once settled, ribbed mussels are very sedentary. Ribbed mussels occur in salt marshes along the western…

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