Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) Linnaeus, 1753

 

Synonyms: Briza caroliniana, Nevroctola maritima, Nevroctola paniculata, Trisiola paniculata, Uniola floridana, Uniola heterochroa, Uniola macrostachys, Uniola maritima, seaside oats

 

 

Uniola paniculata is found on coastal sand dunes and barrier islands along the Atlantic Coast of the United States from New Jersey to Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico Coast from Florida to Tabasco (Mexico); also in the Bahamas and Cuba. The range is expanding northward. A tall, erect perennial grass, 1-2.5 m in height, forming large colonies. The leaves are long (20-60 cm) and thin, alternatively arranged. The zygomorphic, wind-pollinated florets, lacking the calyx or corolla, are grouped in flattened oval spikelets (each containing 10-20 flowers), assembled in terminal panicles. The seed heads (infructescences) turn yellow-brow in late summer. The fruit is a caryopsis, containing a single seed. U. paniculata is highly tolerant of salt spray and brief inundations.

 

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