Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants
Salt Marshes and Meadows
Salt Marshes and Meadows 125
On sheltered low-lying coasts in muddy estuaries and lagoons, salt marshes frequently or occasionally flooded by tides, grade landwards into salt meadows rarely reached by the sea. Nearest the sea, a zone that is under water for part of each day during spring tides has a close cover of the glasswort, Sarcocornia quinqueflora. Further from the sea and at a slightly higher elevation reached only by the highest spring tides, the next zone is dominated by taller rush-like plants including the true rush Juncus maritimus and the jointed rush Leptocarpus similis. Often backing this zone is a fringe of the small-leaved twiggy shrub Plagianthus divaricatus, a strange relative of the much larger ribbonwood ( P. regius) found in inland forests. Furthest from the sea the salt meadow is rarely reached by the tide, but owes its moderate saltiness principally to salt-laden gales. It has a turf of low-growing, mainly succulent herbs including Apium prostratum, Selliera radicans with its lobelia-like flowers, Samolus repens and Leptinella (Cotula) dioica. Triglochin striatum and Lilaeopsis spp. are also common here.