Spinifex sericeus, kowhangatara, or silvery sand grass is indigenous, and is commonly found throughout New Zealand. It is also present in Australia. It is the most important native sand-binding grass in New Zealand, and favours dunes immediately behind the beach. It can tolerate high winds, salt spray and shifting sands. Its does not tolerate stable dune systems, and does not compete well with other introduced dune plants. The male and female flowers are produced from September to December on separate plants, and the distinctive spiky heads are produced by the female plant from November to May. Once autumn nears the spiky seed heads of Spinifex grass, powered by wind, roll along the beach until it gets trapped. Then the fine sand submerges the seed balls, which then releases its seeds to restart the cycle of growth and dispersion.  If the heads are trapped where they become saturated by the tide they break up and these bits are then carried to other suitable areas to germinate. The seeds grow into perennial grass that has greyish-green coloured leaves, covered with dense hairs that make them look silvery. It is a creeping and rooting grass up to 60cm tall with tufts of leaves arising from creeping undrground stems (rhizomes) that grow into multiple metres long runners with buds developing into new male and female plants that bloom during spring and early summer. It is very hardy, and is best grown in sand. This indigenous sand binding grass is an important place in giving some stability to foreshore dunes on windswept beaches and prevents dunes from moving inland. Dunes naturally take the role of shore protectors in both directions, from the incoming surf of the sea and filtering the water coming from wetlands that are close to the shore. The shorebirds like Caspian terns, the threatened dotterels, oystercatchers, gulls, insects and reptiles these dunes are their home and breeding ground.