On the gently sloping sea side, a grass, the Oyat or Gourbet (Ammophila arenaria) competes for space with the quackgrass which is gradually receding. Its dense and tall tufts of long, narrow leaves with rolled edges and prickly tips, from which yellowish, almost cylindrical spikes emerge, give a characteristic appearance to all coastal dunes of temperate regions. They resist the winds, block the sand and protect anything that grows after the dune.