FLORA OF ICELAND elements: Leymus arenarius, Lyme-grass

Leymus arenarius; Lyme-grass generally is a coastal plant growing on sandy dunes and higher regions of beaches. On Iceland though this species can also be found on the "sandy" volcanic ash-soils of the highlands and "sandur" plains of the south coast. Both this species and the closely related foreign species L. mollis (American Lyme-grass) are used for settling wind-erosion prone highland regions. The Ameriacan Lyme-grass can be distinguished from the (European-) Lyme-grass by the hairy top of the culm.
It is a member of the grass family (Poaceae, also known as Gramineae).

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