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Miscanthus floridulus
Poaceae FAMILY

Miscanthus floridulus

Miscanthus floridulus

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

The name 'sawgrass' is often used for this species because of the sharp edges on the leaves[1]. It is best to wear gloves when working with the plant[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
GrowthFast

Miscanthus floridulus is a plant of the warm temperate to tropical zones[3]. The young growth is susceptible to frost damage[2]. Grows best in full sun, but also succeeding in light shade[2, 4]. Prefers a deep fertile loamy soil that does not dry out[2] but succeeds in a wide range of soils, including heavy clays, so long as they are not too dry[5, 6, 4]. Plants can be grown as a focal point in lawns, they also succeed in quite coarse grass[7]. This species photosynthesizes by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions. This species is closely related to Miscanthus sacchariflorus[7]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[7].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in spring in a greenhouse and keep moist. Germination should take place within a couple of weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring or early autumn[2]. Very easy, large divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Miscanthus+floridulus>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Plants of Guam — Moore P.H. & McMakin P. · University of Guam. · 1979 · http://university.uog.edu/cals/people/POG/scipn.htm ↩︎Brief details, usually with a photo, of plants native to the island of Guam, often together with some information on their uses. An online version is available.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Industrial Crops - Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts — Von Mark V. Cruz &.David A. Dierig (Editors) · Springer; New York · 2015 · http://10.1007/978-1-4939-1447-0 · ISBN 978-1-4939-1447-0 ↩︎
  4. [4]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  5. [5]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  6. [6]Ornamental Grasses. — Grounds. R. · Christopher Helm · 1989 · ISBN 0-7470-1219-9 ↩︎Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.
  7. [7]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  8. [8]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  9. [9]Flora of Japan. (English translation) — Ohwi. G. · Smithsonian Institution · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Flora Vitiensis Nova — Smith. A.C. · Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden; Hawaii · 1979 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A comprehensive flora of Fiji, often showing plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  11. [11]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  13. [13]The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam — Safford W.E. · Smithsonian Institute; Washington. · 1905 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet.