Illustrated Descriptions of the Grasses 



Pmiicle 4'- id' long, oblong, often reddish purple, branches ascending 

 or spreading. Spikelets i-flowered, \\"-2" long. Scales 3; outer 

 scales nearly equal, acute, rough; flowering 

 scale thin and translucent, divided at apex, 

 surrounded by numerous white, silky hairs 

 which rise from the base of the scale, flower- 

 ing scale bearing a dorsal awn about the 

 length of the basal hairs. Rachilla prolonged 

 and hairy. Stamens 3. 



Wet grounds. June to August. 



Newfoundland to Alaska, south to North 

 Carolina and southern California. 



MARRAM GRASS 



"Where the gray beach glimmering 

 runs, as a belt of the dawn." 



From Virginia northward, along the 

 Atlantic coast, the gray-green leaves of 

 Marram Grass add their subdued colour to 

 the pale sands. Where the forests advance 

 toward the water's edge this grass occupies 

 a narrow strip of shore between tides and 

 trees; but where the sands have drifted 

 inland, driving vegetation before them. 

 Marram Grass often covers large areas and 

 aids in arresting the encroaching desolation. 

 Although other plants are smothered by 

 wind-blown sand, this grass, continuing to 

 grow as the sand collects around it, is found 

 on high dunes with whose rise it has kept 

 pace. The buried stems attain an incredible 

 length, and the stout rootstocks, becoming 

 matted and interwoven, prevent the drift- 

 ing of sands, and resist the action of waves 

 and winds which wage unceasing warfare 

 against the land. 



The value of Marram Grass as a sand- 

 binder has long been recognized. Even in 

 the reign of Elizabeth laws were passed in 

 England for the preservation of this grass, 

 and in America, in colonial days, the in- 



127 



Grass 

 arenaria 



