Calamagrostis arenaria (L.) Roth
Common name
marram grass
Synonyms
Ammophila arenaria
Family
Poaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Grasses
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
AMMARE
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial. Coastal plant, usually occurs on sand dunes; can occur in inland sites with low fertility.
Detailed description
Stout rhizomatous perennial grass forming compact tufts, 1 m+ tall. Rhizomes tough, creeping long distances in loose sand. Leaves to 700 × 3–6 mm, greyish-green, tips sharp, reddish-brown sheaths overlapping; blades tightly rolled (appear cylindrical) in exposed conditions, loosely rolled in shade; densely hairy ribs above, striped below, narrow ligule 25 mm long. Seedhead a dense spike, whitish, to 30 cm long.
Similar taxa
Leymus racemosus is more robust, foliage less bluish. Poa billardierei native sand tussock can be confused with small marram plants.
Flowering
November, December, January, February, March
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Fruiting
Unknown
Life cycle
Perennial. Can spread large distances via seed. Low amounts of seed are produced. Seed viability is low, with no contribution to the seed bank. Vegetative reproduction occurs rapidly through extensive rhizomatic growth. The plant achieves this by trapping sand and growing through it, changing how natural sand dunes are formed, in contrast to native pīngao (Ficinia spiralis) which holds and releases sand more readily to resupply beaches. Seed is dispersed by wind. Direct spread from extending rhizomes, seed and rhizome fragments spread by wind and water, deliberate planting by people for sand dune stabilisation.
Propagation technique
Rooted pieces of rhizome.
Year naturalised
1873
Origin
Europe, North Africa
Reason for introduction
Agricultural (to stabilise sand dunes which had mobilised once native vegetation had been removed).
Tolerances
Highly tolerant to drought and is virtually unpalatable to grazing stock. Intolerant of shade.
Etymology
calamagrostis: After Kalamos, a Greek mythical figure who was turned into a reed, and agrostis, a Greek word for ‘grass’ from agrotes ‘of the field’.
arenaria: Sand dweller
References and further reading
Peterson, P.M.; Soreng, R.J.; Romaschenko, K.; Barberá, P.; Quintanar, A.; Aedo, C.; Saarela, J.M. 2022: Phylogeny and biogeography of Calamagrostis (Poaceae: Pooideae: Poeae: Agrostidinae), description of a new genus, Condilorachia (Calothecinae), and expansion of Greeneochloa and Pentapogon (Echinopogoninae). Journal of Systematics and Evolution 60(3): 570–590. (Published online: May 2022)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: Ogle, C. (Year at time of access): Calamagrostis arenaria (L.) Roth Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/calamagrostis-arenaria-l-roth/ (Date website was queried)