I photographed this stand on Pass Island between Canoe & Deception passes on June 20, 2012. Full sun.
That is very similar looking to an annual grass I have growing here - one I've known as a dog's tail grass. Maybe a lead.
After looking more closely, I do think this is Cynosurus echinatus, aka "bristly dogstail grass, rough dog's-tail and hedgehog dogtail. It is native to southern Europe, and it is known in the Americas and Australia as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed.