Editing Ammophila (plant) (section)

== Uses ==
The ability of marram grass to grow on and bind sand makes it a useful plant in the stabilization of coastal [[dune]]s and artificial [[coastal management|defences]] on sandy coasts. That usefulness was recognized in the late 18th century.<ref>Viborg, E. (1788) Efterretning om Sandvexterne og deres Anvendelse til at dæmpe Sandflugten paa Vesterkanten af Jylland. [[Copenhagen|København]]. [https://archive.org/details/efterretningoms00vibogoog Full text (in Danish)](Subsequent [[German language|German]] translation: Beschreibung der Sandgewächse und ihrer Anwendung zur Hemmung des Flugsandes auf der Küste von Jütland etc. Viborg, Erich Aus dem Dänischen von J. Petersen. Kopenhagen, 1789)</ref><ref>Andresen, C. C. 1861. Om Klitformationen og Klittens Behandling og Bestyrelse. - P.G. Philipsens Forlag. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tFcDAAAAYAAJ&q=Andresen,+C.+C.+1861.+Om+Klitformationen. Full text (in Danish)]</ref> On the [[North Sea]] coast of [[Jutland]], [[Denmark]], marram grass was traditionally used for fuel, thatch, and cattle fodder after frost. Those uses led to sand drift and loss of arable land. Hence, legislation promoting dune stabilization came into force in 1779 and 1792, successively leading to a system of state-supported ''dune planters'' overlooked by ''dune bailiffs''. Marram grass was – and still is – propagated by root and shoot cuttings dug up locally and planted into the naked sand in periods of relatively calm and moist weather.

Women from the village of [[Newborough, Anglesey]], [[Wales]], once used marram grass in the manufacture of mats, [[hay]]stack covers and brushes for [[whitewash]]ing.

Marram grass has been used for [[thatch]] in many areas close to the sea in the [[British Isles]]. The harvesting of marram grass for thatch was so widespread during the 17th century that it had the effect of destabilizing dunes, resulting in the burial of many villages, estates and farms. In 1695, the practice was banned by an Act of the Scottish Parliament:<ref>{{cite book|last=Gimingham |first=C. H. |year=1964 |chapter=Maritime and sub-maritime communities |title=The Vegetation of Scotland |editor=Burnett, J. H. |publisher=Oliver & Boyd |location=Edinburgh and London |pages=67–142}}</ref> {{quote|Considering that many lands, meadowes and pasturages lying on sea coasts have been ruined and overspread in many places in this kingdom by sand driven from adjacent sand hills ... His Majesty does strictly prohibit and discharge the pulling of bent, [[broom (shrub)|broom]] or [[juniper]] off the sand hills for hereafter.}}