Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese Silver Grass)

Overview

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Chinese silvergrass. <em>Miscanthus sinensis</em>

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Mang

Common Names in English:

Chinese Silver Grass, Chinese Silvergrass, Eulalia, Eulalia Grass, Japanese Silver grass, Maiden Grass, Miscanthus, Zebra Grass

Common Names in French:

Miscanthus De Chine

Common Names in German:

Schilfgras

Common Names in Japanese:

Susuki

Common Names in Korean:

Oksae

Common Names in Portuguese:

Capim-Zebra, Eulália

Description

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Genus Miscanthus

Perennial , tufted or rhizomatous . Culms slender to robust , erect , solid. Leaves basal or cauline; leaf blades large, linear , flat, broad or narrow; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a panicle, often large and plumose , of racemes arranged on a long or short axis; raceme axis tough, internodes slender, spikelets paired , both spikelets pedicelled, pedicels slender, flattened, slightly clavate . Spikelets similar, lanceolate, dorsally compressed ; callus bearded with hairs shorter than, as long as, or longer than the spikelet; glumes papery or membranous; lower floret usually represented by a hyaline sterile lemma; upper floret bisexual, lemma hyaline, awned or awnless. Stamens 2-3. Caryopsis oblong or ellipsoid .

Fourteen species, mostly in SE Asia and the Pacific Islands, extending to tropical Africa; seven species (two endemic) in China.

This genus is readily recognized by its paniculate inflorescence of racemes, which have a tough rachis, and also by its paired spikelets, both of which are pedicelled.[1]

Physical Description

Species Miscanthus sinensis

Leaves are mostly basal and hairless, although there are often hairs present at the throat of the sheath , where the leaf spreads out to become the blade . Leaf blades are usually 3/8” to ¾” wide, and are erect with gracefully drooping tips . Their whitish midveins are obvious on the undersides of the leaves. Seed heads and leaves both dry to a golden brown color in the winter. Grows to 6'. Some members of the genus, and some cultivars of M. sinensis, are non-invasive.

Plant tufted or shortly rhizomatous . Culms (30-) 80-200 (-400) cm tall, 3-10 mm in diam., solid, unbranched, nodes glabrous or puberulous . Leaves basal and cauline; leaf sheaths glabrous or pilose ; leaf blades linear , flat, 18-75 × 0.3-2(-4) cm, glabrous, glaucous or pilose, midrib prominent , margins scabrid or smooth , base tapering or broad and rounded , apex acuminate; ligule 0.5-4 mm, ciliolate . Panicle (10-) 20-36 cm; axis 6-16 cm, subglabrous to pilose or puberulous. Racemes (4-) 10-40(-100), (8-) 10-30 cm; rachis internodes glabrous, scaberulous or smooth, nodes glabrous; lower pedicel 0.5-1.5 mm, upper pedicel 1.5-4 mm. Spikelets 4-6.5 mm, pilose or glabrous, awned ; callus hairs 5-8 mm, exceeding the spikelet; glumes subequal , membranous, 4-6.5 mm, 5-veined, back glabrous or pilose, puberulous at apex and along upper margins, apex acuminate; lower lemma lanceolate, hyaline , 3.5-4 mm, veinless, apex and margins puberulous, otherwise glabrous; upper lemma similar to lower, 2.5-3.5 mm; awn geniculate , 4-12 mm; upper palea a 1-2 mm scale. Anthers 3, ca. 2.5 mm. Caryopsis ellipsoid , ca. 2 mm. [source]

This is a widespread species with a broad range of variation . Although the variants may be locally distinct , there are too many intermediates to allow a more detailed taxonomy to be followed. The main variants are as follows: Miscanthus condensatus: plants robust , 200-400 cm tall; leaf blades broad, 20-40 mm wide; panicle dense, of up to 100 racemes; Japan (including Ryukyu Islands), especially on coasts; M. purpurascens: glumes conspicuously pilose; throughout the range of M. sinensis; M. transmorrisonensis: panicles of 5-10 racemes; Taiwan. [source]

The name "Miscanthus jinxianensis L. Liu" (Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 10(2) : 7. 1997) was not validly published because no Latin description was provided. It probably refers to a slightly large form of M. sinensis. The specimen on which it is based has not been seen. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Flowers: Bloom Period: July, August. • Flower Color: maroon

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Habitat

Mountain slopes , coasts, disturbed places; below 2000 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea][2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,919 meters (0 to 6,296 feet).[3]

Ecology: Problem: grass widely grown in nursery trade, early flowering cultivars have viable seed and are spreading to roadsides.

Control: Miscanthus spreads vegetatively, but colonizing new areas depends on wind-blown seed.

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 4-6' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
    - Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
      - Subphylum: Euphyllophytina () - (Auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Infraphylum: Angiospermae () - Auct.
        Class: Spermatopsida () - Brongniart, 1843
        Subclass: Commelinidae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Juncanae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Order: Poales () - Small, 1903
        Series: href="http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/title/493 ()
        Family: Gramineae () - A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons., nom. alt.
        Subfamily: Panicoideae ()
        Tribe: Andropogoneae ()
        Subtribe: Saccharinae ()
        Genus: Miscanthus () - Andersson, 1855 - Silvergrass
        Specific epithet: sinensis - Anderss.
        Form: of 3, 000-13, 000 ft. By B. Hayata. Tokyo, The
        Botanical name: - Miscanthus sinensis Anderss.

Synonyms

Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus A. S. Hitchc. • Miscanthus sinensis var. variegatus Beal • Miscanthus sinensis var. zebrinus Beal

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Miscanthus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 79 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

National Science Museum of Korea, National Science Museum of Korea Plant

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2661806
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-41874
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13731130
Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:408768-1
GRIN Nomen Number: 24493
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 41874
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMPOA44040
U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: MISIZ
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13860

Footnotes

Shou-liang Chen & Stephen A. Renvoize "Miscanthus". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 571, 572, 581. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
"Miscanthus sinensis". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 581, 582, 583. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Mean = 303.960 meters (997.244 feet), Standard Deviation = 345.130 based on 221 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

Miscanthus sinensis

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Genus Miscanthus

Physical Description

Species Miscanthus sinensis

Size/Age/Growth

Habitat

Biology

Reproduction

Growth

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Miscanthus

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Data Sources

Identifiers

Footnotes