Chinese Silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis)

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Superorder	Lilianae
Order	Poales
Family	Poaceae
Subfamily	Panicoideae
Tribe	Andropogoneae
Genus	Miscanthus

Scientific Name

Miscanthus sinensis

Common Name

bristle miscanthus

Miller, J.H., E.B, Chambliss, N.J. Loewenstein. 2010. A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. General Technical Report SRS-119. Asheville, NC. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 126 p.

Plant

Tall, densely bunched, perennial grass, 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 m) in height. Longslender upright-to-arching leaves with whitish upper midveins. Many loosely plumed panicles in late summer turning silvery to pinkish in fall. Dried grass standing with some seed heads during winter. Seed viability variable depending on cultivar.

Stem

Upright-to-arching, unbranched originating in tufts from base. Covered with overlapping leaf sheaths until stem appears with flower plume in late summer.

Leaves

Alternate, long linear, upright-to-arching (persisting and curly tipped when dried) to 40 inches (1 m) long and less than 0.8 inch (2 cm) wide. Blades green to variegated (light green striped) with whitish collars. Midvein white above and green ridged beneath. Tufted hairs at throat, sheath margins, and ligule, but otherwise hairless. Margins rough.

Flowers

August to November. Terminal, plumed panicles, much branched and drooping, 4 to 15 inches (10 to 38 cm) long and 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) wide. Silvery to pinkish, showiest in fall. Stalk appressed-rough hairy.

Seeds

September to January. Grain hidden, husks membranous, yellowish brown to slightly reddish, sparsely hairy, with twisted tip.

Ecology

Forms extensive infestations by escaping from older ornamental plantings to roadsides, forest margins, right-of-ways and adjacent disturbed sites, especially after burning. Shade tolerant. Highly flammable and a fire hazard.

Resembles

Resembles giant reed (Arundo donax L.), which has wide cornlike leaves jutting from a central stalk and is described in this book. Also resembles Uruguayan pampas grass [Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult. f.) Asch. & Graebn.], another nonative invasive grass and also commonly planted as an ornamental, which is usually larger in size with a tighter plume branched from a central stalk. Also resembles common reed [Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.], which has a similar large hairy seed head, but fanned in a loose plume and not erect, and which occurs mainly near swamps, marshes and other wet habitats. Also resembles the native sugarcane plumegrass [Saccharum giganteum (Walter) Pers.] but its leaves are mainly on the lower stem and do not have a distinctive white midvein.

History and use

Introduced from Eastern Asia. Still widely sold and increasingly planted as an ornamental. Several varieties imported and sold. Cultivars vary widely in fertility and percent of seed viability.

Distribution

Found in scattered dense infestations in NC, west KY, south VA, east TN, and south GA with occasional infestations elsewhere throughout the region except TX, OK, and AR.

Management strategies

• Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of plants and seed heads in a dumpster or burn.
• Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
• Minimize disturbance within miles of where fertile plants occur, and anticipate wider occupation if plants are present or adjacent before disturbance.
• Do not mow when there are seed heads.
• Burning treatments are suspected of having minimal effect, and dormant standing infestations in winter are highly flammable and pose a fire hazard.

Recommended control procedures

• Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (September or October with multiple applications to regrowth): Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix). When safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix) only to the target plants; or a combination of the two herbicides, Arsenal AC* as a 0.5-percent solution (2 ounces per 3-gallon mix) plus a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (2 ounces plus 1 pint per 3-gallon mix). Repeat applications when new growth reaches 2 feet (60 cm) in height.

* Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.

Images

September	November	October
October	September	September	March

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