[Agrostis virginica L.; Sporobolus virginicus var. phleoides Hillebr.] (ind) Seashore rushgrass, beach dropseed, eaki‘aki, saki, mahiki, mahikihiki, manienie, manienie ‘aki‘aki, manienie mahikihiki, manienie maoli Vigorous perennials, spreading by exten-sive stiff, scaly rhizomes; culms erect, 0.5- 5(-9) dm long, freely branching, hollow, glabrous. Sheaths overlapping, glabrous except for the pilose apex and upper margins, hairs conspicuous, up to 3 mm long; ligule membranous, 0.2-0.4 mm long, minutely, densely ciliate; blades harsh, usually involute, 3-14 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, upper surface ridged, sometimes with scattered papillose hairs, apex acute, pungent. Panicles terminal, dense, cylindrical, 2-9 cm long, 0.3-1 cm in diameter, the branches short, erect, densely flowered to base; spikelets grayish or yellowish brown, glossy, appressed to the branches, laterally compressed, 2-3.3 mm long; first glume lanceolate, 1.7-2.4 mm long, 1-nerved, apex acuminate, second glume ovate, 2-3.1 mm long, 1-nerved, apex acuminate; lemma ovate, 1.9-2.5 mm long, 1-nerved; palea as long as lemma, often splitting between the 2 nerves. Fruit obovoid, 0.9-1.2 mm long, ovary wall gelatinizing but thin. [2n = 18, 20, 30, 40.] Native to sandy, usually coastal sites in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide; in Hawai‘i common on coastal dunes and other coastal sites, from just above the high-tide mark, 0-15 m, on Midway Atoll, Laysan, and all of the main islands.—Plate 236. Sporobolus virginicus var. phleoides was described for plants on windward beaches of 0‘ahu, and was distinguished by having shorter and thicker inflorescences.