2 14 ll.OWJ'.KS ()!• IHl', SJ-:A-C()AST 



.ut.ick ihis |)laiu, the first siaj^fs in each case ^rowiiiL;' on a Composite 

 plain. Ihis aiul olhcr Cariccs arc also liaMc lo Ik- intcsted by 

 Sc/iio/ii/iii dm-Kcaina. 



\ l)ccilc, .liitliiciis hiiiiacit/aliis, is toiiiul aniDn^si hcrhaL^c made up 

 of ill is saiul setl^e. 



Larcx is the Latin word tor reed-i^rass or setluc, and the second 

 Latin name indicates its preiereiice tor a sandy hahilal. It is called 

 Sea Bent and Stare. 



The Sand Setli^e has been planted on dykes in ilolland to ])revent 

 the incursions ot" the sea, and has been usc-d tor this jnirposc on the 

 British coast. brom the roots a sort ot sarsajiarilla has been made in 

 (Germany. Sedges have been used as fodder for cattle, for thatch, 

 and fuel. Some species are used like Rafifia Grass to tie up vines, 

 or to put between the staves of casks to make them water ti^hl, and 

 thev have also been woven over bdorence tiasks, or used lor chair 

 bottoms. 



EssENTi.M, Specific Cii.\k.\cteks: — 



325. Carex areiiaria, L. — Stem rouijh above, soboles loiii;, leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, spike oblong', interrupted, upper spikelets male, fruit 

 ovate, broadly winged. 



Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria. Link.) 



This littoral grass is found in the North Temperate region in 

 Europe and N. Africa, not having yet been found in any Glacial 

 plant beds. \\\ Cjreat liritain it is found on the coast of all maritime 

 counties except W. Kent, Gloucs, S. Lines, Westmorland, 1. of Man, 

 Lanark, Perth, Westerness. Main Argyll, N. Ebudes, Ross, E. Suther- 

 land, as far north as the Shetlands. It is a native of Ireland and the 

 Channel Island.s. 



Marram (irass is a common maritime species, so much .so as to 

 form practically an association along the littoral with different species 

 of Agropyron and Elymus. It grows only on sandy coasts, being 

 strictly a sand-lover, as the second Latin name indicates, and frequents 

 sandhills at high-water level, invading the sand dunes inland for some 

 distance. It has been regularly planted in Norfolk for coast protection, 

 and laws regulate its removal. 



The stem is tall, erect, stout, rigid, from a creeping root (with 

 numerous tubers), which is matted and binds the sand around its base 

 closely together. The leaves are long, smooth on the outside, rough 

 within, with their edges rolled inward, acute, and bluish-green, with 



