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Ammophila arenaria
Also called Marram, Marramgrass, European Marram Grass, Sea Matgrass
A tough perennial grass native to sandy coastal dunes in Europe and North Africa, grown mainly to stabilise dunes. Its sand-binding rhizome network is the key to growing it; it needs open, sandy, sunny sites.
Ammophila arenaria (syn Calamagrostis arenaria) is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus Ammophila. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Africa where it grows in the sands of beach dunes. It is a perennial grass forming stiff, hardy clumps of erect stems up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in height. It grows from a network of thick rhizomes which give it a sturdy anchor in its sand substrate and allow it to spread upward as sand accumulates. These rhizomes can grow laterally by 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in six months. One clump can produce 100 new shoots annually.
The rhizomes tolerate submersion in sea water and can break off and float in the currents to establish the grass at new sites. The leaves are up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long and sharply pointed.
The roots of marram grass are edible, although thin and fibrous. The flowering stems and leaves are used for thatching, basketry and making brooms. Fiber from the stem is used for making paper, and the rhizomes are used for making rope and mats.
Beachgrass · Feather reed grass · Wood Small Reed · Leafy reedgrass · Pacific reedgrass · Purple reedgrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ammophila arenaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
