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Nepalese Browntop
Microstegium
vimineum
Identification
An annual grass
with pale green to yellowish lance-shaped leaves. The plant overall
is frail and spindly in appearance, and can grow up to three feet
tall. Flowering and seeding occur in late summer and early fall. The
tiny, inconspicuous flowers and seeds appear at the tips of the
slender stems.
Origin
Japan, Korea,
China, Malaysia, and India
Habitat
Prefers disturbed
shady, moist areas with acidic soil, but can adapt to a variety of
conditions such as more open areas and drier soils. Often colonizes
scoured areas of stream banks and riparian areas very quickly after
a flood or high water event.
Ecological Threat
Being well adapted
to low light conditions, Nepalese browntop is a threat to understory
native herbaceous vegetation. It invades low light areas and crowds
out native vegetation. Browsing wildlife species such as whitetail
deer prefer not to browse on browntop, and instead eat the native
plants, furthering the spread. An infestation of Nepalese browntop
radically slows or stops regeneration of native trees, shrubs and
herbaceous plants because of the dense ground cover it creates.
Recommended Native Alternatives
-
Little
bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
-
Splitbeard
bluestem (Andropogon ternarius)
-
Deer tongue (Panicum
clandestinum)
These pages are designed to give the
layperson a general overview of non-native invasive plants commonly
found in the upper Hiwassee River watershed. For more comprehensive
and technical information about a particular species, visit one of
the web sites from our
Links
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