marram grass

American  

[mar-uhm] / ˈmær əm /

noun

1. a grass, Ammophila arenaria, having matted, creeping rhizomes, grown on sandy shores of Europe, North America, and Australia to bind the sand.

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marram grass British  

/ ˈmærəm /

noun

1. any of several grasses of the genus Ammophila , esp A. arenaria, that grow on sandy shores and can withstand drying: often planted to stabilize sand dunes

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Etymology

Origin of marram grass

First recorded in 1630–40; originally dialect (East Anglian); from Old Norse marálmr, equivalent to marr “sea” + hálmr “grass”; see mere ², haulm

Example Sentences

Only decades ago many of the cottages in Scotland’s Highlands were roofed in heather, bracken and marram grass.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

County Down’s dunes are mostly covered in dense marram grass and dotted with blooming gorse; Tara Iti has far more exposed sand.

From Golf Digest • Jan. 14, 2020

For now, Coul Links remains a rugged strip of ground with silvery-green marram grass shimmering in the wind.

From The Verge • Jan. 16, 2018

The bunkers at Royal County Down, in Northern Ireland, are famous for their ball-devouring overhangs, which are savagely rimmed with marram grass and may serve as portals to a different dimension.

From Golf Digest • Oct. 16, 2013

They spoke too softly for Lyra to hear, but she enjoyed watching them sip dewdrops from the marram grass to refresh themselves.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman