Spinifex | |
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Spinifex longifolius Grant Marine Park Cottesloe, Western Australia. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Subtribe: | Cenchrinae |
Genus: | Spinifex L. |
Type species | |
Spinifex squarrosus (syn of S. littoreus) [1] | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Spinifex is a genus of perennial coastal plants in the grass family. [2] [3] [4] [5]
They are one of the most common plants that grow in sand dunes along the coasts of Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, with the ranges of some species extending north and west along the coasts of Asia as far as India and Japan. [6] As they help stabilise the sand, these grasses are an important part of the entire sand dune ecosystem. The single species indigenous to New Zealand, Spinifex sericeus, [7] is also found in Australia. [8]
Confusingly, the word "spinifex" is also used as a common name referring to grasses in the related genus Triodia . Triodia however is native to inland Australia and refers to a group of spiny-leaved, tussock-forming grasses.
Species formerly included: [1]
Spinifex may refer to:
Elaeocarpus is a genus of nearly five hundred species of flowering plants in the family Elaeocarpaceae native to the Western Indian Ocean, Tropical and Subtropical Asia, and the Pacific. Plants in the genus Elaeocarpus are trees or shrubs with simple leaves, flowers with four or five petals usually, and usually blue fruit.
Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Dysoxylum is a flowering plant genus of trees and shrubs from the mahogany family, Meliaceae.
Centrolepis is a genus of small herbaceous plants in the family Restionaceae known as thorn grass scales, with about 25 species native to Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and south-east Asia as far north as Hainan Dao. APG III system classifies this genus in the Centrolepidaceae family.
Stenocarpus is a genus of about 22 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. They are trees or shrubs with variably-shaped leaves, zygomorphic, bisexual flowers, the floral tube opening on the lower side before separating into four parts, followed by fruit that is usually a narrow oblong or cylindrical follicle.
Ammophila arenaria is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus Ammophila. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Africa where it grows in the sands of beach dunes. It is a perennial grass forming stiff, hardy clumps of erect stems up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in height. It grows from a network of thick rhizomes which give it a sturdy anchor in its sand substrate and allow it to spread upward as sand accumulates. These rhizomes can grow laterally by 2 metres in six months. One clump can produce 100 new shoots annually.
Triodia is a large genus of hummock-forming bunchgrass endemic to Australia. They are known by the common name spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. Many of the soft-leaved members of this species were formerly included in the genus Plectrachne.
Dianella is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the monocot family Asphodelaceae and are commonly known as flax lilies. Plants in this genus are tufted herbs with more or less linear leaves and bisexual flowers with three sepals more or less similar to three petals and a superior ovary, the fruit a berry. They occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia.
Sand dune stabilization is a coastal management practice designed to prevent erosion of sand dunes. Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rare and endangered species. They can protect beaches from erosion and recruit sand to eroded beaches. Dunes are threatened by human activity, both intentional and unintentional. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, operate significant dune protection programs.
The striated grasswren is a small, cryptically coloured ground-dwelling species of wren-like bird in the family Maluridae, endemic to Australia. It occupies a large discontinuous range across arid and semi-arid areas of western, central and southern Australia where it is associated with spinifex (Triodia) grass.
Lepidosperma is a genus of flowering plant of the family Cyperaceae. Most of the species are endemic to Australia, with others native to southern China, southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand.
Parsonsia is a genus of woody vines in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia.
Spinifex longifolius, commonly known as beach spinifex, is a perennial grass that grows in sandy regions along the seacoast. It also lives in most deserts around Australia.
Gahnia is a genus of sedges native to China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific Islands. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussocks.
Whiteochloa is a genus of plants in the grass family.
Leptaspis is a genus of Paleotropical plants in the grass family, native to Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia, and a few islands of the western Pacific.
Spinifex sericeus, commonly known as hairy spinifex, rolling spinifex, beach spinifex or coastal spinifex, is a dioecious perennial grass.
Arctotheca populifolia is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names beach daisy, Cape beach daisy, South African beach daisy, coast capeweed, dune arctotheca, beach pumpkin, sea pumpkin, dune cabbage, and in South Africa, seepampoen, tonteldoek, and strandgousblom. This species is native to South Africa. It was introduced to Australia and is now a common weed of coastal areas in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Triodia basedowii, commonly known as lobed spinifex, is a species of tussock-forming grass-like plant found in Australia.