This is one of those interesting-yet-problematic plants. Miscanthus sinesis, also known as “Chinese silvergrass”, “elephant grass”, or “eulalia grass”, is widely cultivated as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It’s popular in many ornamental applications but also has potential as a bioenergy crop. It’s an invasive species in some places and an important part of the ecosystem in others. We’ve all seen it in ornamental gardens and landscapes, yet many of us know very little about it. Join us today as we explore the history, uses, potentials, and problems of Miscanthus sinesis. Let’s dig in!
The Origins and Cultivation of Miscanthus sinesis
Regular readers may recall our article explaining how Latin binomial names work, and may remember that “sinesis” means “from China”. This is in part true for Miscanthus sinesis. It is in fact native to China, but it’s also found across most of East and Southeast Asia from Korea and Japan down into Indonesia and Malaysia. That’s an impressive range, and it demonstrates how adaptable this plant is to a variety of often-adverse conditions.
Miscanthus sinesis is a true grass; a herbaceous perennial plant growing from an underground rhizome. It’s useful as a decorative grass due to its impressive height—ranging between 3-7 feet/0.8-2.0m tall—and lovely red-green foliage and purple-tinged flowers. The flowering part is especially striking, 8 to 10 inches/20-25cm in length and developing into long white plumes that last through the fall and winter months in many temperate zones.
As its wide native range suggests, Miscanthus sinesis and its many commercial varietals have adapted to a wide variety of climates. It tolerates cold or dry conditions, poor soil, and drought. It can grow on sloping ground or narrow margins, making it a great “fill-in” plant for landscaping. In combination with the vertical interest in provides, it’s a popular addition to many ornamental gardens. Within its native range, it’s often use for land restoration and erosion control; the fast growing roots and rhizomes prevent soil from washing away on landscapes that have been damaged or are undergoing a re-wilding program.
Bioenergy Uses and Invasive Species Concerns
Due to its adaptability, rapid growth, and large size, Miscanthus sinesis has attracted some attention as a potential bio energy crop. The idea is simple: the grass can be harvested and burned directly for straw-fired electric power plants. It can alternately be fermented as silage to produce either bio-ethanol or bio-methane for fuel. It can also be used as an carbon sequestration crop, pulling excess carbon out of the atmosphere and returning it to the soil.
This is, in short, a wonderful plant, but it does come with downsides for some growing environments. The versatility and adaptability that make it so popular worldwide and so wide-ranging at home are the root of the issue: Miscanthus sinesis is prone to becoming an invasive in many environments. It spreads fast, particularly on disturbed ground, and can crowd out native species fairly quickly. For those interested in adding this plant to our gardens or landscapes, it might be a good idea to consider a varietal that’s less prone to seeding widely and then to ensure that the roots and rhizomes are contained with edging material. As always, there are no bad plants but rather plants that are in the wrong place or allowed to spread uncontrolled. We have an obligation as gardeners to ensure that we don’t accidentally introduce such a plant into our local environments and Miscanthus sinesis is a plant that requires some precautions.
Beautiful, Bountiful Silvergrass
This is one of those blogs that taught us a lot about a common plant we’d never explored before. We hope it did the same for you. Miscanthus sinesis is surprisingly interesting, versatile, and helpful when grown properly. We’ll be more appreciative of it when we see it in landscapes and gardens, and we hope you will too!
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