Lyme grass

1. Lyme grass Marram grass is able to colonise the harshest seral stages. It is a pioneering plant and thrives in the drier mobile sand. It has roots that can go deeper than a metre in search of the water table and its rhyzomes enable it to grow vertically and spread laterally. Additionally, it is a xerophyte and halophytic. Sea rocket Marram grass Soft rush is a water tolerant plant that has deep roots. It outcompetes plants in anaerobic conditions. Although it can help to stabilise the soil structure around it, it also relies upon soil to grow in. Lyme grass is one of the first plants to invade the foreshore and is called a pioneer species because it is the first to colonise an area. It is drought resistant (xerophytic) and a halophyte (can grow in areas of high salinity) Sea rocket is a low growing pioneer plant. Its low height helps it to survive the lack of protection against the wind. Its rhyzomes enable it to grow laterally so that a single plant can pop up across several metres of foredune. Sand sedge can start to grow in areas where there is some soil covering the area. It is still drought tolerant and can live in areas of high salinity. It also grows tall and can out-compete plants like marram grass. Soft rush Sand Sedge

2. oak gorse cows Oak trees are complex plants that can only grow in areas that have an established and deep soil. To begin their growth their need relatively sheltered areas with a neutral/acidic pH and an accessible water table. Gorse can grow in more acidic soils where the lime from the sea shells has been leached (washed out) and the amount of humus is greater. Cows are grazed in areas where there is plenty of grass that is soft and ready for grazing. There are plenty of types of willow, but bushy willow is a low lying, creeping plant that can colonise areas with little soil. It does still need protection from a harsh climate and soil to grow in. It can also grow in wet areas like a slack. Sea lyme willow Sand couch Sea lyme (or lyme grass) is a psammophylic (sand-loving) species that is salt tolerant and drought tolerant. It manages the last of these with curved leaves that bend around to trap water and prevent evapo-transpiration. Sand couch, or couch grass, is – like marram grass – the really sharp grass that you cut your feet on when you walk across the dunes. It is often one of the first pioneer plants and can colonise the embryo dune where no other plant can survive.