Fat Hen

(A triplex triangularis)
Status: Native
Habitat: Wetland, Upland
Description: Fat Hen is an annual plant 10 to 38 inches tall and with more than one stem arising from the base. The leaf blade is 0.5 to 2.75 inches wide and roughly shaped like an arrowhead. Fat Hen is common in salt and brackish marshes along the coast, and typically occupies the mid-elevation areas of the marsh in moist soil conditions.
Growth Requirements: Fat Hen cannot survive when its roots are completely submerged for long periods. Stands typ­ically occur in areas where the hydroperiod lasts from 3 to 5 months with the optimum time being 3 months. To encourage Fat Hen, draw down should begin in late January or February. The plant is subdominant on sites flooded for longer than five months. Specific conductivity ranging between 30 mS/cm (20 ppt) and 45 mS/cm (30 ppt) appears to give Fat Hen a competi­tive advantage over Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus) and Saltgrass ( Distichlis spicata).
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