Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

East Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This annual grass grows in dense mats across shaded forest floors and wetlands. Each plant produces up to one thousand seeds that remain viable in the soil for five years.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Poales

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Microstegium

Species

Microstegium vimineum