The Beach - Plants of the Dunes

What plants do you expect to see when you visit the seashore? 

This blog post is a work in progress. I am publishing it anyway, with the knowledge that I will return to it.

The pounding waves, wild winds, and shifting sands of the beach are not an easy place for plants to survive. Salt stress can be intense. Adaptations are necessary.

Salt 

When exposed to too much salt, most plants die. But some plants thrive! Thrive is a fancy word we use when a plant is healthy and keeps growing. 

Plants that thrive with salt are called halophytes. Now that's a fun big word! Hal-o-phyte. This fancy word comes from Ancient Greek: ἅλας (halas) 'salt' and φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. It means "Salt Plant".

Do you want to see a scientific online directory for halophytes (salt plants) across the world? Here's a link: https://ehaloph.uc.pt/

If you look closely at a halophyte, you may notice salt crystals building up on their leaves or stems. These plants take up salty water, use some of the salt as food, and then they release extra salt.

Many salt-loving plants hold water in their leaves and stems. This way they always have  are called succulents. 

Gardening for Salt Spray

Are you looking for plants that will thrive on Florida's seashore? Let's check out some native plants! Here is an online gardening guide of native plants with lots of pretty images: https://www.gardenia.net/guide/florida-native-plants-that-are-salt-tolerant

Dune Plants

As you walk to the beach, you will walk through the dunes. Or perhaps you will walk over them using a boardwalk. Here is a photo of my children on a boardwalk. They are walking from the beach through the dunes. One child is bending down and pointing at the rabbit she saw hiding!

The plants here have root systems that stabilize the dunes. 

Let's have a little scavenger hunt! Can you find each of these plants?

Sea Oats 

Uniola paniculata

Beach Grass

Panicum amarum

Sea Grape 

Coccoloba uvifera

Beach Morning Glory 

Ipomoea pes-caprae

Beach Sunflower 

Helianthus debilis

Saw Palmetto 

Serenoa repens

Cabbage Palm

Sabal palmetto

Slash Pine 

Pinus elliotti

Live Oak

Quercus virginiana

Plants on Plants - Epiphytes!

Some plants deal with the salty ground by avoiding soils completely! How? One of my favorite plants lives on other plants. You can find it hanging off Live Oaks all over central Florida. A plant that lives on another plant is called an epiphyte. Epi-phyte. You know what Phyte means. You just saw it in Greek a minute ago: φυτόν. Yep, it means plant! But what does epi mean? This little bit comes from English, and it means "on top of". Let's look for some plants on plants.

Spanish Moss

Tillandsia usneoides

Resurrection Fern

Strangler Fig

Ficus aurea 

(Picture of a young Strangler Fig)

(Picture of an old Strangler Fig)

Ok, ok. You're right. Strangler Fig is not an epiphyte. Strangler Fig is only a hemi-epiphyte. Hemi means part. It only spends part of its life as an epiphyte because it eventually grows roots that reach into the soil, but only after years of growing.

How do plants adapt to the beach?

We love visiting the dunes in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

How are dunes formed?

What does the city do to maintain the dunes?

How do dunes protect cities?