This mainly Mediterranean grass is present in Lazio, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia (since a long time no longer found in Tuscany and Campania). It grows on the edge of ditches and swamps, along the banks of rivers, at the edge of temporary pools, on muddy, periodically flooded soils, below the lower montane belt, with optimum in the Mediterranean belt. The species is common in the central belt of the Sardinian temporary ponds. The genus name derives from the Greek 'glykeros' (sweet), for the flavour of the seeds that were once used for human consumption; the species name refers to the linear inflorescence, which resembles a spike. Flowering period: May to July. |
