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| Grasses
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Sea Oats,
Uniola paniculata, are very salt tolerant plants common on the
sand dunes of the Eastern Atlantic Coast, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean shores.
The flowers resemble oats, giving the plant its name. Sea Oats’ roots grow very
deep (to reach freshwater) and thus help stabilize the dunes and protect the
shoreline from erosion.
In a healthy coastal ecosystem, sand circulates between the dunes, the
beach and shallow water areas. "But without plants to anchor the dunes,
sand just blows away. Fortunately, we can help solve the problem by
replanting sea oats and encouraging people to stay off the dunes",
said Frederique Perret.
Panic grass,
Panicum amarum, is a perennial, warm
season grass growing
to a height of 5 feet. The leaves are 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, 7 to 20
inches long, smooth without hair, and bluish in color. A robust grass,
it spreads from short, strong rhizomes to form open clumps.
The principal use for panic grass is in coastal dune erosion control.
It is adapted to very dry, sterile sites.
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Sea Oats
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Smooth Cordgrass,
Spartina, is the most extensive and productive salt-marsh
plant along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States.
It is used extensively for shoreline protection.
Once established, smooth cordgrass spreads vegetatively,
forming ring-shaped clumps of individual clones. New stems grow
along the outer edge of the ring, gradually increasing its diameter
with each growing season.
If you own coastal property that has unvegetated, regularly flooded,
saline areas that you want to landscape, this plant is an excellent
candidate. It grows very vigorously at full-strength seawater
salinities and higher.
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Smooth Cordgrass |
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