MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Sand-binding grasses in addition 

 are able to grow up through the 

 deepening sand. The most effective 

 sand binders for seacoast drifting 

 sand are the European beachgrass 

 (Ammophila arenaria) and its Ameri- 

 can relative (A. breviligulata) . The 

 dunes of the Netherlands, south- 

 western France, northern and western 

 Denmark, and other parts of Europe 

 and areas on Cape Cod are planted 

 with beachgrass. These fixed dunes 

 act as barriers, protecting the land 

 behind them. The land now occupied 

 by Golden Gate Park, once an area 

 of drifting sand, was first held in 

 place with beachgrass and later 

 planted to shrubs and trees. Cala- 

 movilfa longifolia and Redfieldia flex- 

 uosa are effective native sand binders 

 on sand dunes of the interior. 



Grasses with strong rhizomes are 

 used to hold the sides of cuts and 

 banks and to protect them against 

 erosion. Bermuda grass in the South 

 and quackgrass (Agropyron repens) 

 in the North have been used success- 

 fully for this purpose. Rhizome-bear- 

 ing species of Elymus and Agropyron 

 have been used in the Northwest to 

 hold railroad embankments along the 

 Columbia River. 



Shallow-water marshes and lagoons 

 are in many places being converted 

 into dry land by native plants grow- 

 ing therein that accumulate soil and 

 gradually raise the level of the bottom. 

 Grasses, especially species of Spartina 

 and Phragmites, play an important 

 part in the process. Artificial plant- 

 ings of Spartina townsendii have been 

 used with great success in the south 

 of England, northern France, and in 

 parts of the Netherlands to convert 

 marshes and mud fiats along the 

 coast into dry land. 



GRASSES FOR LAWNS AND GOLF COURSES 



The lawn is a most important part 

 of a well-planned landscape, park, or 

 garden. For the humid regions of the 

 Northern States, Kentucky bluegrass, 

 also used for pasture, is the best- 

 known lawngrass. Rough bluegrass 

 (Poa trivialis) is often used as a lawn- 



grass in shady places. In the Southern 

 States Bermuda grass takes the 

 place of bluegrass. Two other species 

 are prominent as grasses for lawns 

 and putting greens, creeping bent 

 (Agrostis palustris) and colonial 

 bent (A. tenuis). Along southern 

 coasts St. Augustine grass (Steno- 

 taphrum secundatum) and centipede 

 grass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) are 

 planted, being propagated by cut- 

 tings. Some of the fescue grasses are 

 used in mixtures for lawns. These are 

 red fescue (Festuca rubra), sheep 

 fescue (F. ovina), hard fescue (F. 

 ovma var. duriuscula), and shade 

 fescue (F. rubra var. heterophylla) . 



ORNAMENTAL GRASSES 



Among typical ornamentals the 

 plumegrasses, giant reed (Arundo 

 donax), Ravenna grass (Erianthus 

 ravennae), eulalia (Miscanthus sin- 

 ensis), and pampasgrass (Cortaderia 

 selloana) are the most popular for 

 parks and large areas. Dwarf bamboo 

 (Bambusa midtiplex) is used for 

 hedges in the South, and the smaller 

 species of Phyllostachys for masses of 

 evergreen foliage. Pseudosasa japo- 

 nica. an aggressively spreading hardy 

 bamboo, is rather common in parks. 

 Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) 

 and blue fescue (Festuca ovina var. 

 glauca) are used for borders. Ribbon 

 grass (Phalaris arundinacea var. pic- 

 ta) is a familiar grass in old gardens. 

 Basket grass (a variegated form of 

 Ovlismenus hirtellus) will fall in long 

 festoons from hanging baskets. 



DISTRIBUTION OF GRASSES 



One of the most widely distributed 

 of the families of flowering plants, 

 the grasses are found over the land 

 surface of the globe, in marshes and 

 in deserts, on prairies and in wood- 

 land, on sand, rocks, and fertile soil, 

 from the Tropics to the polar regions 

 and from sea level to perpetual snow 

 on the mountains. 



The different grasses, like other 

 kinds of plants, thrive best under 

 certain conditions of soil, moisture, 

 temperature, exposure, and altitude. 



