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Plants

Algae | Arrowgrass | Cattail | Coyote Bush | Gum Plant | Pickleweed | Tule Reed | Sweet Fennel | Halophytes|

Algae

Some algae is found in freshwater oran aquarium. The body of algae is called the thawlls. There are 16 types of different algae. Algae in the Suisun Marsh is found in the water that does not flow very much. Algae is often green or blueish-green.

by Stephanie

Brother Alfred Brousseau
© 1995 Saint Mary's College of California

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Arrowgrass

Scientific name: Triglochin maritime

Description: The flower stalk can be up to 3 feet tall. There are grass-like leaves at the bottom of the plant. The flowers are small, green and closely packed at the end of the flower stalk.

This is a poisonous plant, the leaves will make you very sick!

by Sara!

Cattail

Scientific name: typha latifolia

Size: Up to 10 feet high

Description: It is a tall plant with a stalk with what looks like a corndog at the top. The leaves are kind of the same height. In the summer, when the top part opens up, there are seeds inside.

Cattails were important to Suisun Indians. They were important because they used it often. They used the leaves as material for baskets, they made diapers out of the feathery white stuff on the cattails and they also used parts of the cattails for food. When the cattails were green the Suisun Indians would cook them like corn on the cob. by Tia

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Photographer: Sherry Ballard
Organization: California Academy of Sciences Collection: CalAcademy ID: 1335 3153 0669 0123 (11/13/2002)
Copyright © 2002 California Academy of Sciences

Coyote Bush

Scientific name: Baccharis pitularis

Size: 10-15 feet (3-5 meters)

Description: Wiry evergreen (it means that it stays green all year, even in winter) shrub that looks like a bush. It has gray-green leaves that are jagged on the edges. The flowers are whitish-green and they grow from hairy seeds. They bloom close together. The Coyote Bush is the biggest and tallest plant in the marsh.

The Native Indians used wood from this bush to make shafts for their arrows.

I used the following books: The Nature of California by James Kavanagh, Waterford Press 1994 The Suisun Marsh Resource Book by the Fairfield-Suisun USD

Gum Plant

Scientific name: Grindelia paludosa

Size: its flower's rays are 1 inch long. The leaves on the plant are 4 inches long and the plant is about 2 to 4 feet tall.

The gum plant blooms in the spring with yellow flowers. The "gum" in the gum plant was used as medicine by the Suisuni Indians. Small masses of bubbles often seen on this plant actually hide spittle bugs.

by Stephanie

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Tule reeds:

Tule are grass-like and grow in marsh areas of California. The word "tule" came from the Aztec word "tullin" or "tollin" which meant a group of plants including the common cattail, bulrush, and similar plants. There are 17 species in California! The California Native Americans made boats, huts, baskets, mats, and skirts out of tule. The tule is an important plant in the marsh. It's important for nesting, protective cover. It's really the best nesting place for marsh wrens.

Tule:
Scientific Name: Scripus acutus Tule
SIZE : 5-13 feet tall
Description: It has round stems, not triangular

California Bulrush
Scientific Name: Bull Tule California Bulrush Scripus californicus
Size: It grows up to 13 feet tall.
Description: Still triangular or round stems

by Jamie

Sweet Fennel

Scientific name: Foeniculum vulgare Fennel

Description: It is a light green plant with yellowish flowers. The flowers are clustered together. This plant smells like licorice.

Size: This plant can grow to about ten feet high! It is a very common plant to see on the road. Lots of people think it smells bad, but some people think it smells good! This plant looks like a lettuce kind of but it is a little bit darker and is smelly. This plant lives along roadsides and are common. Also this plant is not for you to eat, even though it's called a "Licorice Plant" you can't eat it raw, but you can if it is cooked.

I found my information at; E-Nature.com- I typed in "fennel" in their search engine. January 22, 2003

Charles Webber

© 1998 California Academy of Sciences more information

This is pickleweed

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Pickleweed:

Scientific name: Salicornia virginica

Pickleweed gets its name from its small pickle-appearance and its salty taste. The weed is part of a species called halophytes. Halophytes are plants that have adapted to salt water life. They are able to grow in areas that have brackish water. Brackish water is salt water and river or lake water mixed. It is part of that species of plants. It is a gray-green plant whose stems look like a series of slender pickles. Salt crystals can be seen forming on the outside of the plant. Humans can eat Pickleweed but it is very salty. Pickleweed got the name Pickleweed because it looks like a pickle.

What eats it? The salt marsh harvest mouse both eats it and lives in it.

Where do you find Pickleweed? You can find it in the Suisun Marsh wherever brackish water is

What does it look like? It is grayish-green plant that looks like it has little pickles strung on wires. Sometimes it is other colors, such as orange or pinkish.

Halophytes:

Halophytes are a type of plants. Pickleweed is a good example of a halophyte. A Halophyte is a plant that is adapted to salt and fresh mixed (brackish water). Most plants are either fresh water plants such as oak trees and flowers or salt water plants like seaweed. Halophytes are able to grow in brackish water! The cattail is ANOTHER halophyte. You should NEVER open a cattail. You WILL sneeze a lot! Cattails can be used for food, pillows, even diapers! ANOTHER halophyte is the tule also known as the California Bulrush. It grows in thick clumps,1-3 feet tall! It's a good material for marsh wrens and provides a protective cover for many birds. Indians built boats, huts, baskets, mats, even skirts out of just tule!

by Sergio

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