Uniola paniculata
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| Sea oats | |
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| Sea oats | |
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| Species: | U. paniculata
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Sea oats are a type of grass that grows along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast of the United States, Mexico, and on islands in the Caribbean. Sea oats are well suited to saline environments, and as such are important to barrier island ecology and are often used in soil stabilization projects, because their long root structure firmly holds loose soil. Sea oats are a protected grass in most states along the East Coast. Picking or disturbing sea oats is punishable by fine in Georgia and Florida.
A thriving colony of sea oats adorns the pier at Commercial Beach in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The oats are a crucial component of the area's hurricane defense strategy, having staved off storms Arthur through Sally in the 2008 hurricane season. (Tropical Depression Teddy was undeterred) Scientists are waiting with bated breath to see if the sea oat colony will survive the el Nino season of 2009. If so, we can expect the oats and nascent dune structure they support to flourish for the foreseeable future.
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