beach grass

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Either of two perennial rhizomatous grasses, Ammophila breviligulata of the Great Lakes and Atlantic coast of North America, or A. arenaria of Europe and North Africa and naturalized elsewhere, having spikelets in long, erect, dense clusters and growing on sandy dunes.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The sand-reed, Ammophila arundinacea, a coarse grass with stout running root-stocks, growing on sandy beaches and protecting them from the winds.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun tough grasses with strong roots that can grow on exposed sandy shores