The word "psammophyte" consists of two Greek roots, psamm-, meaning "sand", and -phyte, meaning "plant".^[1][2][3] The term "psammophyte" first entered English in the early twentieth century via German botanical terminology.^[4]

Psammophytes are found in many different plant families, so may not share specific morphological or phytochemical traits. They also come in a variety of plant life-forms, including annual ephemerals, perennials, subshrubs, hemicryptophytes, and many others.^[5][6] What the many diverse psammophytes have in common is a resilience to harsh or rapidly fluctuating environmental factors, such as shifting soils, strong winds, intense sunlight exposure, or saltwater exposure, depending on the habitat.^[6][7] Psammophytes often have specialized traits, such as unusually tenacious or resilient roots that enable them to anchor and thrive despite various environmental stressors.^[8] Those growing in arid regions have evolved highly efficient physiological mechanisms that enable them to survive despite limited water availability.^[9][10]

Psammophytes grow in regions all over the world and can be found on sandy, unstable soils of beaches, deserts, and sand dunes.^{[5][6][7][11][12]} In China's autonomous Inner Mongolia region, psammophytic woodlands are found in steppe habitats.^[13]

Psammophytes often play an important ecological role by contributing some degree of soil stabilization in their sandy habitats.^[14] They can also play an important role in soil nutrient dynamics.^[15] Depending on the factors at play at a given site, psammophyte communities exhibit varying degrees of species diversity.^{[16][17][5][12]} For example, in the dunes of the Sahara Desert, psammophyte communities exhibit limited diversity and are predominantly made up of plants from the grass and mustard families.^[5]

Like many other types of plants, psammophytes can have symbiotic relationships with microorganisms called endophytes that live inside of their tissues, which can impart enhanced growth or other benefits.^[18]

A major threat to psammophytes in many regions is dune destabilization, which is exacerbated by human development projects and factors associated with climate change, such as drought and temperature increases.^[11] Encroachment of non-psammophytic plants and invasive species poses another threat to psammophyte species in some areas.^[12][16][19] Ecological restoration efforts in psammophyte habitats often aim to utilize the natural soil stabilizing and nutrient enhancement abilities of psammophytes as part of restoration strategies.^[16][15] Another important strategy is restoring and protecting the requisite soil microbiome some psammophytes require to thrive.^[19]

China's Minqin Garden of Desert Plants is one organization that is actively working on efforts to conserve both wild and horticultural psammophyte species.^[20]

Some examples of psammophyte species include:

• Agriophyllum squarrosum (sand rice)^[7]
• Haloxylon ammodendron (saxaul)^[10]
• Linaria arenaria (sand toadflax)^[21]
• Omphalodes kuzinskyanae (Kuzinsky navelwort)^[6]
• Stipagrostis pungens (madjiugu)^[5]
• Corynephorus canescens (grey hair-grass or gray clubawn grass)^[22]

• Psammophile
• Extremophile
• Goravan Sands Sanctuary

• Minqin Garden of Desert Plants