The best time for planting sea oats is fronn late winter to early summer. Depth of 

 planting should be 20 to 30 cm. Each plant should be transplanted at 46-cm centers. 

 Plantings can be spaced at 0.6 to 1.2 m intervals at the edges of the planting area to 

 allow for sand penetration into the center of the planting area. Sea oats usually take 2 

 years to stabilize a dune and hence should be used in conjunction with faster sand 

 stabilizing plants, such as bitter panicum. 



Croton punctatus , beach tea (Figure 10), is a woody-based perennial, commonly 

 wide-spreading, and up to 45 cm high. This species inhabits coastal dunes from North 

 Carolina to Florida and Texas, and flowers from March to December or in some cases all 

 year. Seeds, glossy gray with darker mottlings, ripen in October through November. 



Beach tea is only sporadically found along the Louisiana coast. Where it is present, 

 e.g., on the Northern Chandeleur islands, this species builds up large hummock-like dunes 

 and is a significant member of the dune community. Beach tea primarily spreads by seed 

 and is characterized by its silvery-colored leaves and pubescence. The stems are tan 

 with cinnamon-colored spots. 



This plant can be propagated by planting the seed 2.5 to 5 cm deep during the late 

 fall and up to early spring. Beach tea should only be used for the purposes of dune 

 stabilization with grasses having a more fibrous root system. 



Iva i mbricata , dune elder (Figure II), is a woody-based perennial about 60 cm high 

 with fleshy leaves. Dune elder is found on sand dunes of the Atlantic and gulf coasts 

 from Virginia to Florida and Texas, and flowers from August to September. 



Dune elder has a similar growth habit to that of beach tea, and thus, forms 

 hummock-like dunes. In specific areas of Louisiana, this plant is a dominant of the dune 

 community. Dune elder has a strong system of rhizomes which allow it to spread and 

 form colonies. In addition, roots develop along the stems if they are buried by sand. The 

 leaves of this plant are fleshy, narrow, and lance-shaped, growing to about 6 cm long. 

 Dune elder is highly adapted to the dune environment. Its thick fleshy leaves are 

 impervious to salt spray and the plant spreads upward and outward as sand accumulates 

 around it. 



This plant may be propagated with seed or with stem cuttings. Seed collected, 

 cleaned, and planted in the fall has a good chance of success (Graetz 1973). In cleaning 

 the seed, care must be taken in rubbing away the chatty bracts so as not to injure the 

 fragile seed coats. Seedlings also can be found naturally near the parent plant and can 

 easily be transplanted in the spring. Stem cuttings root easily in peat pots and can be 

 used as transplant stock. Cuttings should be planted in the late winter or early spring, 10 

 to 1 5 cm deep. 



The best dune-forming plants have both vertically and horizontally elongating 

 stems and a fibrous root system. These characteristics enable the plants to grow 

 vertically through accumulating sand, to spread laterally increasing plant density and 

 cover, and to most efficiently bind sediments. These characteristics plus the ability of 

 dune vegetation to survive and reproduce under relatively harsh environmental conditions 

 makes the above plants nearly perpetual agents for stabilization. 



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