Plants & Nature

Lyme grass

Tags: Rushes, sedges and grasses Description: Lyme grass is a grass that can grow over a metre tall. It is perfectly adapted to growing on sandy beaches.

Lyme grass

Tags: Rushes, sedges and grasses Description: Lyme grass is a grass that can grow over a metre tall. It is perfectly adapted to growing on sandy beaches. It has many roots and stems beneath the sand that hold it in place. From the underground stems, new plants can shoot up through the sand and form new plants. When the plants are covered by sand, they simply grow taller, and there is even more plant to hold the sand in place. Try feeling the blue-green leaves of lyme grass. They are very stiff and can cut your fingers a little if you grip too hard. The stiff stalks and leaves let it withstand the wear of sand blowing in the wind. The blue-green colour also helps the plant, as this is a waxy layer that protects the plant against drying out.

Use: Lyme grass got its name because it can look a little like the common cereal rye. In the old days, people also ground the fruits and used them as flour. Habitat type: Coast Edible: No Written by: Lærke Stewart

, via Wikimedia Commons](Strandrug/Strandrug.jpg)

Lyme grass. Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

, via Wikimedia Commons](Strandrug/Strandrug2.jpg)

Close-up of lyme grass. Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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