Spartina
/spɑːrˈtiːnə/noun
A former genus name for cordgrasses, now generally treated within the grass genus Sporobolus.
Did you know?The name ultimately evokes Greek spartē, a fibrous broom plant whose stems were used for making cords and other materials—not magic, but an ancient technology encoded in botany.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sper-
“To sow, scatter, or spread; a proposed ancestral root connected with Greek seed and plant vocabulary.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σπάρτον (spárton)
“A plant used for fiber or cordage; also something made from such fiber.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σπάρτη (spártē)
“Broom plant or fibrous plant used for making cords.”
18th Century
Latin botanical
Spartina
“A botanical genus name formed from Greek-derived spart- terminology, referring to grass resembling or associated with spartum fiber plants.”
Modern English
English
Spartina
“A former scientific genus name for cordgrasses, especially salt-marsh grasses, now commonly included in Sporobolus.”