Index / Search / Ammophila arenaria

§1 Plant

Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link

vernacular European beachgrass — species · Poaceae

USDA: AMAR4
GBIF: 4126489 syn.
Rank: species

European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) — Platephotograph · sea-kangarooCC BY-NC-ND source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Graminoid
Duration: Perennial
Group: Monocot
Family: Poaceae Barnhart
Genus: Ammophila

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Introduced
HI Hawaii Introduced
L48 Lower 48 States Introduced
PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Introduced

§2b

County-level range

· 26 counties across 5 states/territories

Legend Native · 0 Introduced · 26 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Medium
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: High
Salinity: Low
Anaerobic: Low
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 7 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 175 min.
Precipitation: 30–60 in/yr
pH range: 6–8.5
Root depth: 20 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Rhizomatous
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 2 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed abundance: Low
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: None
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 114,000
Propagation: bare root, sprigs

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 26 counties across 5 states/territories.

California view state ↗ 12 I ▾

New York view state ↗ 1 I ▾

Erie 36029

Oregon view state ↗ 8 I ▾

Pennsylvania view state ↗ 1 I ▾

Erie 42049

Washington view state ↗ 4 I ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/AMAR4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/4126489 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z