Dune Plants: A Study in Adaptation
The native plants that grow closest to the ocean along the Jersey Shore have evolved to thrive in tough conditions – luckily for us.
Coastal dunes owe their existence to a small portfolio of plant species adapted to one of our area’s most extreme habitats. Wave action and wind will push sand ashore, but it’s the presence of these tough and hardy plant species that allow it to pile up and stay put. What it is: Dune plants are a hearty bunch. If you’re asked to think of a dune, you’ll probably call to mind the grass-covered mounds you have to climb over — or hopefully through, on a designated path — to get to the ocean at your favorite beach. This “beach ridge” is called the foredune, and it's a tough place to live if you're a plant. Salt in the air and the sand is toxic to plants – it inhibits their ability to take up water nutrients through roots and also sucks …
