Spinifex (coastal grass)

{{Short description|Genus of grasses}}

{{About|the grasses of Asia and Australia|the Australian grasses commonly referred to as spinifex|Triodia (plant){{!}}Triodia (plant)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Spinifex longifolius in the Grant Marine Park in Cottesloe, Western Australia..JPG

|image_caption = Spinifex longifolius
Grant Marine Park
Cottesloe, Western Australia.

|taxon = Spinifex

|authority = L.

|type_species = Spinifex squarrosus
(syn of S. littoreus)

|type_species_authority = L.

|synonyms_ref = [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=443905 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]

|synonyms =

• Ixalum G.Forst

}}

Spinifex is a genus of perennial coastal plants in the grass family.Linnaeus, Carl von. 1771. Mantissa Plantarum 163, 300[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40003634 Tropicos, Spinifex L.][http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=131011 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 553 鬣刺属 lie ci shu Spinifex Linnaeus, Mant. Pl. 2: 163, 300. 1771. ]{{Cite web |url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:414869 |title=Atlas of Living Australia Spinifex L. |access-date=23 February 2015 |archive-date=14 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514045427/http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:414869 |url-status=dead }}

They are one of the most common plants that grow in sand dunes along the coasts of Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, with the ranges of some species extending north and west along the coasts of Asia as far as India and Japan.{{cite web|url=https://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p00278aa.pdf|title=Sand spinifex grass (Spinifex sericeus)|work=Descriptions of Major Dune Plants|publisher=Beach Protection Authority, Queensland|access-date=23 January 2010}} As they help stabilise the sand, these grasses are an important part of the entire sand dune ecosystem. The single species indigenous to New Zealand, Spinifex sericeus,{{cite encyclopedia|author=Mark, Alan F.|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/grasslands/1/2/3|title=Grasslands - Spinifex|encyclopedia=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand|date=1 March 2009|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=31 January 2010}} is also found in Australia.{{cite book|author1=Webb, C.J. |author2=Sykes, W.R. |author3=Garnock-Jones, P.J. |title = Flora of New Zealand Volume IV|publisher = Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research|year = 1988|url = http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_d1a88a5f-8368-43a8-b307-f5b45cf73061&fileName=Flora%205.xml}}

Confusingly, the word "spinifex" is also used as a common name referring to grasses in the related genus Triodia. Triodia however is native to inland Australia and refers to a group of spiny-leaved, tussock-forming grasses.

File:Spinifex sericeus seed head.jpg