Shore sands fixer
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Lyme-grass
Lyme-grass Liiv-vareskaer Leymus arenarius
The characteristic grass plant of our sand dunes and beaches finishes its flowering along with the month of July. Often growing up to a metre tall, lyme-grass must have a strong stem and leaves covered with a waxy layer and resistant to the sea winds. The waxy film prevents evaporation of water from the leaves and lends them the particular bluish-green colour. In dry, salty sand soil that is moved by winds and sea water the lyme grass, as fixer of the sands, is one of the pioneer species. Autumn storms and waves change the seashore and often the plants are buried in sand, while in other locations the well developed root system is bared ... But lyme-grass still stops the movements of the sands and provides an opportunity for following plants to take root.