Common Cord grass is a member of the Poaceae family. It is an invasive species native to the south coast of England. It developed from the previously introduced Spartina alterniflora. Cordgrasses colonise estuarine habitats, sand dunes and salt marshes. S. anglica was often planted in areas to stabilise dunes, coastal defence, or reclamation of land. Smooth cord-grass was intentionally introduced into Little Island in Cork in 1925. 

Identification:

• Stems are tall, can grow up to 130cm
• Stems are hollow, stiff, and hairless
• Leaves are found in overlapping sheaths and are grey or green.
• Flowers are borne on one side of the stem or rachis. Flowers are colourless and occurs in clusters
• Often found in large tussocks or meadows
• In England seeds are only viable for one season under field conditions, with germination rates of 0.6 to 5 percent. 
• Spartina anglica sprouts in the spring and can produce up to 5 million spikelets per hectare. 
• In late autumn / early winter, it produces wintering buds in the leaf axils, which is followed by rhizome development in response to short days. 
• Spread occurs in two phases, initial invasion and establishment of seedlings or vegetative fragments on open mudflats.

Reproduction:

Common Cord grass can spread by seedlings or by plant fragments. Cord grass spreads by radial colonial growth to form tussocks, these tussocks can join together to form large meadows. Seeds can also spread by wind, tides, and birds.

Impacts:

• Colonises land areas rapidly
• Can cover over feeding habitats such as mudflats and saltmarshes for wading birds.
• Loss of habitat for juvenile trout and salmon, oysters, crabs, and clams.
• Outcompetes native plants
• Increase flooding as roots of cord grass build up the banks

Treatment:

• Mechanical: Spartina anglica can be pulled or mowed however this is not considered a viable method of control as plants can easily re-establish. Can be carried out anytime within the growing season April – September end. Various manual techniques have shown some degree of control in past studies. Can be labour intensive and impractical on large scale infestations.
• Chemical: Herbicidal control is the recommended treatment for S. anglica. Spraying with a glyphosate-based herbicide. Treatment should be timed to ensure a minimum of five hours contact before the next tidal inundation. Roundup Pro Biactive is recommended for use in nature conservation areas and aquatic situations for the control of Spartina anglica. This can also be used with an aquatically registered surfactant and/or dye when applying to limit the impact on non-target species. Can be carried out anytime within the growing season April – September end. Effective if the correct timing and rates of application are used. Autumn application must be done before frost damages the foliage.
• Biological: Prokellsia marginata, is a plant hopper that can be used as a biological control agent. Not well researched.