This ornamental grass is native to Africa and is densely tufted and has delicate features. It was originally brought to the US for erosion control and animal forage. This plant is definitely cold tolerant, however, in warmer climates it is a vigorous grower and self-seeder that easily jumps boundaries and has an extensive root system. It is listed as invasive in VA, GA, and SC. There are several variants of this grass so they will have some differences in appearance. Generally, the grass has weeping leaves up to 2 feet long and very narrow. The margins may be rolled inward. The inflorescence is a panicle with spikelets up the stem, each containing up to 15 flowers. Each panicle can produce 1000 seeds. It has now spread over much of the eastern USA as far north as NY and west to CA. The thick roots can penetrate several feet deep and wide. It prefers lighter soils with low fertility and full sun to part shade. Please plant less aggressive ornamental grass. See suggestions to the left.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Clumping; Dense; Mounding
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Green
Leaf type
Sheath
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Linear; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves green in summer; often yellow to bronze in winter. They are up to 2 feet long and very narrow with some long hairs at the sheath base. Margins roll inward
Flower form
Panicle
Flower detail
Arching, open lavender-gray panicles in mid to late summer. Each pannicle is 10-16 inches long with has spikelets along the stems that are 3-6 inches long with up to 15 flowers in each. Flowers June- Aug.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
The stems are erect, densely tufted, and unbranched