Uniola paniculata (sea oats) is a perennial, clone-forming dune grass of coastal beaches in the southeastern United States. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to compare clonal diversity in younger and older patches of U. paniculata. Older patches were found to contain a significantly higher level of clonal diversity, suggesting that, in some cases, U. paniculata populations may increase in clonal diversity over time. The high level of clonal diversity found in the older patches provides further evidence for the important role of sexual reproduction in maintaining diversity in U. paniculata.