Ammophila breviligulata (American beachgrass or American marram grass) is a species of grass native to eastern North America, where it grows on sand dunes along the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes coasts.

The dense, grey-green tufts of Marram grass are a familiar feature of our coastal sand dunes, its spiky leaves featuring in many games during long summer picnics at the beach.

Marram grass has been widely used for thatch in many areas of the British Isles close to the sea. The harvesting of marram grass for thatch was so widespread during the 17th century that it had the effect of destabilizing dunes, resulting in the burial of many villages, estates and farms.

Aug 28, 2024 · Marram grass is the first widespread plant away from the beach and most important of the dune-builders. It can be seen on dunes all around the Great Lakes and along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Ammophila arenaria is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. [2][3] It is one of two species of the genus Ammophila. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Africa where it …

Jan 28, 2025 · Let’s tread carefully into the story of marram grass—the unsung hero holding our dunes together. In this blog post, Samuel walks us through the role marram grass plays in coastal ecosystems and highlights efforts to protect and restore this important plant.

Marram grass is native to the UK, it is a common species on sand dunes that grows up to 1m in height. It can be found along much of the Welsh coastline throughout the whole year but flowers...

Sep 7, 2012 · Marram grass – that grey, green prickly grass that catches your legs when climbing up sand dunes, is fantastically adapted to life by the sea. Metres-long roots reach down in search of moisture, while creeping stems called rhizomes extend widthways below the surface, sending down even more ladder-like rooting structures along their length.

Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) is a perennial grass that was introduced into Tasmania from Europe to stabilise coastal dunes. It is very effective at trapping sand and grows vigourously, so reducing the natural changes often associated with coastal dune systems. Uncontrollable...

Jun 14, 2019 · Marram grasses have a special survival mechanism to cope with this: they catch drifting sand and build a dune, which enables them to eventually escape the effects of the sea.