EMILY de CAMP HERBARIUM

COMMON NAME: Beach Heather
OTHER COMMON NAME(S): False Heather, Beach Heath, Ground Moss, Sand Heather, Poverty Grass, Woolly Hudsonia
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hudsonia tomentosa
FAMILY: Cistaceae
COMMUNITY: Secondary Dune
STATUS: Native
LIFESPAN: Perennial
HEIGHT: 3-8 in.
FLOWERING TIME: Late May-June
FRUITING TIME: Late June-August
DISTRIBUTION: Canada to North Carolina

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Small scalelike leaves covered with a whitish down ~ tiny, yellow flowers produced on twig tips ~ low shrubby appearance.

GENERAL INFORMATION: In 1849, while visiting Cape Cod, Thoreau wrote: “The sand by the roadside was partially covered by bunches of a moss-like plant, which a woman told us was called ‘poverty grass’, because it grew where nothing else would.” Beach heather does prefer the secondary dune or road edge where salt spray is less of a factor. Reduced leaf surfaces, covered with tiny hairs, decrease evaporation.
An extensive yet delicate root system is easily damaged by human traffic. This shrub with its sand binding qualities, acts as the primary stabilizer of top soil in the swales, or hollows of the secondary dune. Large patches of beach heather are referred to as “heather balds”. The barren appearance of the ‘balds’ is encouraged by a toxin generated in the roots of the hudsonia which deters the growth of other species. It is estimated that some of these balds may be 75 years old. Beach heather blooms around Memorial Day, carpeting the secondary dunes in bright yellow flowers. Island Beach State Park is fortunate to be the site of one of New Jersey’s most extensive populations of beach heather.

Beach heather may hybridize with golden or Pine Barrens heather (Hudsonia ericoides), a species with needlelike leaves found in the New Jersey Pinelands. Its generic name means “of Hudson” a reference to William Hudson, apothecary, author and curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden in England.

Please note: While harvesting wild berries/fruit is permitted at Island Beach State Park, visitors must adhere to park regulations at all times and must not damage vegetation or go off designated trails. This information is presented for educational purposes only.