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Species
Miscanthus sinensis var.variegatus Beal
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
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.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200025714 |
More info for the term: invasive species
Germination testing indicates that Chinese silvergrass seed may have little dormancy and has a high germination capacity over a wide range of environmental conditions. In several greenhouse and laboratory studies, Chinese silvergrass seed began germinating within 6 days [84], and up to 69% to 100% of its seed germinated in 10 to 25 days [2,4,10,84]. In a laboratory, Chinese silvergrass seed germinated at temperatures from 59 to 90 F° (15-30 °C); optimum temperature was near 77 °F (25 °C). Chinese silvergrass seed germinated in a wide range of pH conditions, ranging from 4.3 to 8.5 [4]. One invasive species manual from the southeastern United States indicated that Chinese silvergrass seed viability may be variable [72].
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Miscanthus+sinensis |
Miscanthus condensatus Hackel; M. flavidus Honda; M. kanehirae Honda; M. purpurascens Andersson; M. sinensis subsp. purpurascens (Andersson) Tzvelev; M. sinensis var. condensatus (Hackel) Makino; M. sinensis var. purpurascens (Andersson) Matsumura; M. transmorrisonensis Hayata.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200025714 |
More info for the terms: cover, density
In Japan, Chinese silvergrass forms a soil seed bank, but densities may vary depending on the plant community and season. In a Chinese silvergrass-dominated grassland, 80% of the Chinese silvergrass seeds collected from the soil seed bank were viable. The average number of buried Chinese silvergrass seeds in a 3 × 3 × 0.3-foot (1 × 1 × 0.1 m) plot was 875 in the spring and 340 in the summer. In grasslands dominated by other species, the average number of buried Chinese silvergrass seeds in the same size plot was 1,933 seeds in the spring and 1,980 seeds in the summer. In both Chinese silvergrass and Korean lawngrass (Zoysia japonica) grasslands, Chinese silvergrass soil seed bank density was greatest in the first 0.8 inch (2 cm) of soil and declined sharply in samples collected from deeper depths. Chinese silvergrass viable seed density was 10 times greater in the Korean lawngrass stand than in stands dominated by Chinese silvergrass [35].
Vertical soil distribution of Chinese silvergrass seed in Japanese grasslands in 8 plots (10 ×10 × 10 cm²) [35] | |||||
Depth (cm) | 0-2 | 2-4 | 4-6 | 6-8 | 8-10 |
Average number of Chinese silvergrass seeds | 48 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
In Japan, soil samples (3 feet² × 4 inches deep (1 m² × 10 cm) ) were taken from three grasslands with average Chinese silvergrass cover of 34.0%, 69.0%, and 76.5%. Grasslands contained an average of 220, 630, and 600 viable Chinese silvergrass seeds/plot, respectively. Samples of the same size collected from a shrubland with 18.7% Chinese silvergrass cover contained an average of 30 viable seeds per sample [111].
The density of viable Chinese silvergrass seed in the soils of various forest communities in southwestern Japan ranged from 0 to 2,238 seeds/0.4 m² plot at a depth of 4 inches (10 cm) and was generally higher in samples collected in fall rather than spring [79].
It is unclear how long Chinese silvergrass seeds stay viable in the soil. In the laboratory, Chinese silvergrass can be stored for at least 1 year without an appreciable loss of viability; the storage method is not critical. However, older seed may have a lower germination rate [9].
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Miscanthus+sinensis |
Type collection for Miscanthus coreensis Hack.
Catalog Number: US 101800
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): J. Matsumura
Year Collected: 1900
Locality: Korea, Asia-Temperate
- Type collection: Hackel, E. 1904. Bull. Herb. Boissier ser. 2. 4 (6): 531.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=11243260 |
More info for the terms: apomixis, density
Chinese silvergrass is wind pollinated and may be self-incompatible (review by [96], Nishiwaki 1992 cited in [58]); however, an invasive plant guide from New England indicated that many Chinese silvergrass cultivars may self-seed [70]. Seed set percentage may depend on Chinese silvergrass density and distance between plants (review by [96]). One variety of Chinese silvergrass from Taiwan may reproduce by apomixis, while another variety is considered an outcrosser [8].
Information on state-level noxious weed status of plants in the United States is available at Plants Database.
Type collection for Miscanthus condensatus Hack.
Catalog Number: US 101799
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Status verified by specimen annotations only
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): J. Matsumura
Locality: Ins. Hachijoo., Izu, Japan, Asia-Temperate
- Type collection: Hackel, E. 1899. Bull. Herb. Boissier. 7 (9): 639.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=11243258 |