Spinifex Grass

Sand Dunes Shape West Auckland’s Coastal Environment

Spiky seed heads of Spinifex grass, powered by wind, roll along the beach once autumn nears. This joyful game goes on until the ball gets trapped. Then the fine sand found during West Auckland beach vacations, submerges the seed balls that releases its seeds to restart the cycle of growth and dispersion.

The seeds of 'spinifex sericeus' grow into perennial grass that is greyish green of colour with a hairy surface. Its rhizomes grow into multiple metres long runners with buds developing into new male and female plants that bloom during spring and early summer.

This indigenous sand binding grass takes an important place in giving some stability to foredunes on windswept west coast beaches and prevents dunes from moving inland. Shifting sand, spray water, and sometimes strong winds shape a fluid environment. Dunes naturally take the role of shore protectors in both directions. From incoming storm and surf of the seaside and filtering the water coming from wetlands close to the shore. Outlining itself a fragile ecosystem placed between beach and shore. There shore birds like caspian terns, the threatened dotterels, oystercatchers, gulls, insects and reptiles amongst others find their home and breeding ground.

The thumbnail leads to e-cards of NZ beach photos.

Change of Perception

There was a time when people living along the coast felt the urge of regaining land taken by dunes through measures of forestation and introducing to New Zealand's coast binding marram grass, ice flowers and others to restrain the dunes movement. Ultimately the realisation of loss dawned. New Zealander found that they lost a part of their biodiversity and endangered species, an important buffer zone between sea and shore, with the result to move on to dune restoration and protection programs. Part of these programs is planting idigenous 'spinifex grass'.

How You Can Help?

If you see signs about protecting dunes, support these while bearing in mind that community groups put in a lot of love and effort to restore dunes for their environmental role as well as for their visual attraction. Keep on designated paths, while crossing the dunes. Some areas on the west coast ask to put your pet dog on a leash or even keep it off the beach. This is a precaution to keep nesting shore birds safe.

If a bird seems to act strangely like being in attack mode or playing injured you came to close to its nest. Their eggs often look like speckled ordinary beach pebbles, so watch your step carefully while moving away from the distressed bird.

Spinifex Grass Online Puzzle

To pass on a bit of online puzzle fun we transformed the sand dune picture showing the runners of spinifex into a puzzle. Play, compete, or send it as a puzzle e-card after you opened the puzzle playing field in a new browser window. Are you keen in using memorable digital pictures to design a personalized jigsaw? Then please follow the link to photo puzzles. More free online puzzle games are found here!

Follow the thumbnails for more online beach jig saw puzzles.