At first glance, Northerners may mistake this for fine snow blown on a bitter wind; but no, this is indeed a north wind, the temperature is above freezing, the material is beach sand. Keeping the sand in place is a concern for Brevard County.
Golden brown infructescences (seed heads) of Sea Oats grass on stalks growing from dunes, seen here in early morning light, are one element of this plant beneficial to the goal of keeping beach sands in place. Tall stalks and broad leaves catch blowing sand. Deep roots hold the plants in place, shallow root systems hold sand in place to form dunes.
Returning after staying away for COVID-19, we found new plantings of Sea Oats by the county.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
Cool!!!
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks
LikeLike
So interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear from you, Lynne.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m in Palm Beach County and we had very strong winds on the beach the other day. I never knew this about the roots of Sea Oats. And did not know that new plantings were put out purposefully like this. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, there are sign all over Cocoa Beach, to stay off the dunes to protect the Sea Oats and cite the Florida State Code, so the law applies Florida wide.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always seen the signs everywhere about protecting the dunes but never realized how the roots of the Sea Oats function – or that new young ones were planted periodically like this. Thanks!!
LikeLiked by 1 person