Japanese Stiltgrass Flower
Leaves are pale green about 7 cm long and wider in the middle with a shiny midrib.
Japanese stiltgrass flower. Yellow to reddish seeds are shed in late fall. Flowers have 1 to 3 spikes with the flowers clustered along the spike. Japanese stiltgrass also known as bamboograss flexible sesagrass japanese grass mary s grass microstegium nepal microstegium nepaleze browntop or vietnamese grass is a summer annual commonly found in shady moist areas and is spreading rapidly in woodlands as well as shaded landscapes and low maintenance turf throughout the southeastern united states mid atlantic states and north. Despite being non native in the united states it serves as a host plant for some native satyr butterflies such as the carolina satyr hermeuptychia sosybius and the endangered mitchell s.
The seeds are viable for up to 5 years and can survive a 2 month water immersion. Annual grass reaching up to 1 1 m tall. Microstegium vimineum commonly known as japanese stiltgrass packing grass or nepalese browntop is an annual grass that is common in a wide variety of habitats and is well adapted to low light levels. The result is up to 1 000 seeds per plant with fecundity exasperated by longevity.
Each plant can produce up to 1 000 seeds annually. Japanese stiltgrass microstegium vimineum also called nepalese browntop is an aggressive invader of forest lands throughout the eastern united states infestations can impact the diversity of native species reduce wildlife habitat and disrupt important ecosystem functions. Like most other annual invasive plants japanese stiltgrass seed is small and highly mobile usually arriving in new areas accidentally on contaminated surfaces such as vehicles. How to identify japanese stiltgrass.
