Sporobolus spicatusSalt Couch Grass

The Sporobolus spicatus, commonly known as the Salt Couch Grass, is a low, creeping perennial grass of saline flats, sabkha and lake margins across Africa and Arabia. It spreads by surface runners into a fine, dense, low turf with narrow grey-green leaves and slim spike-like flowerheads.

It is one of the very few grasses that will form a continuous sward on salt-crusted ground and under saline irrigation. It is used for low-input turf on saline sites, sabkha edge treatment and surface stabilisation.

Specifications

• Height0.1 to 0.3 metres
• WidthIndefinite, spreading by surface runners
• Native toNorth and east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, on saline flats and lake margins
• FoliageFine, narrow, grey-green leaves on low creeping stems; evergreen where moisture allows
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilAccepts strongly saline, alkaline and sandy soils; tolerates salt crusting and periodic inundation
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow to moderate; tolerates saline irrigation water and is drought-tolerant once the runner mat has closed
• ClimateThrives in hot arid, semi-arid and coastal regions with saline groundwater

Additional Features

• FormFine, low, creeping sward that closes into a continuous mat
• UsesLow-input turf and amenity grass on saline sites, sabkha and lagoon edge treatment, surface and dust stabilisation
• SpacingPlant 0.3 to 0.4 metres apart, or establish from runners for a closed sward in one season
• Low MaintenanceTolerates low mowing frequency and low fertility; no specialist inputs required
• Pest ResistanceFree of significant pest and disease problems
• Salt ToleranceVery high, forming a sward under saline irrigation where conventional turf species fail
• Drought ToleranceGood once the mat is closed, browning off and recovering rather than dying
• Erosion ControlThe runner mat binds saline surface soils and reduces dust generation

The Salt Couch Grass gives a usable green surface on saline ground and saline water, which is a rare combination.