Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Uncommon

About

This perennial grass grows in the shaded, wet lowlands of eastern North America. Its leaf blades are lined with microscopic, backward-pointing hooks that can slice through skin.

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

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Poales

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Leersia

Species

Leersia virginica