Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Microstegium vimineum
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Japanese Stiltgrass from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The following chronological synopsis of flora accounts of Microstegium is instructive: not treated by Small (1933), "local" (Fernald 1950), "rarely introduced and possibly not established" (Gleason & Cronquist 1952), "sporadically naturalized" (Godfrey & Wooten 1979), "a rapidly spreading pernicious invader on moist ground, too common" (Wofford 1989), per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Microstegium vimineum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Microstegium vimineum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-84-001:
Microstegium vimineum FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Eulalia viminea
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Microstegium vimineum var. imberbe
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Microstegium vimineum var. vimineum
COMMON NAME:
Japanese Stiltgrass, Japanese-grass, Nepalese Browntop, Nepal Grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_mivi_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_mivi_003_lvd
)
Gill Newberry gn07_microstegium
July
)
JK Marlow jkm0307a_32
July Greenville County SC
One of the most destructive introduced plants in our area, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0307a_34
July Greenville County SC
Leaves lanceolate, flat, to 10cm wide and 2-15mm wide, with white midveins, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0307g_05
July Greenville County SC
Extensive dense patches, eliminating nearly all other herbaceous plants, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_082521blairsville103
August Union County GA
Meeks Park Disc Golf Course
)
JK Marlow jkm120925_135
September Greenville County SC
Terminal, thin and spikelike raceme, to 3" long, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
JK Marlow s030928_a
September Greenville County SC
Spikelets in one to three terminal upright fingers, per Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992).
)
JK Marlow jkm0410k_21
October Greenville County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_m_vimineum_7495
October Lexington County SC
Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Microstegium vimineum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Microstegium vimineum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Microstegium vimineum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-84-001:
Microstegium vimineum
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Eulalia viminea
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Microstegium vimineum var. imberbe
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Microstegium vimineum var. vimineum
932
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, colonizing moist, rich soil, especially in floodplains, though sometimes patchily in even dry or dry-mesic uplands, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: tropical southeast Asia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Botanical Garden
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain yellowish/Reddish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p234
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p399
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p090
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p748
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p032
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p403
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p266
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p047
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