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Recently, a visiting out-of-town family member commented, "it's too bad you all have Japanese stiltgrass here - we have it too, and it's taking over."
In the moment, I could not recollect which invasive weed she was talking about. Later, driving down my road, I noticed dense low growth along the edges of the back road. I hadn't thought about it before, but now it looked suspicious to me.
When I got home, I looked up the plant in question, and found that yes, it was the green foliage I noticed growing on the road sides.
To me, it looks reminiscent of mini bamboo plants, with super thin stalks.
Japanese stiltgrass was first recorded in the U.S. in 1919, after being used as packing material for porcelain dishes shipped from China to Tennessee, according to the Penn State Extension website.
This plant has very small seeds, which are often transported unintentionally (such as on vehicles). When they fall off onto road sides, or into water ways, they seed easily. An article on the WVU Extension website points out that deer and other wildlife may disburse the seeds, as well as heavy equipment, and hay making.
The plants grow seed prolifically - up to 1,000 seeds per plant, and soon a sprawling patch has established and continues growing.
Information on the North Carolina University Extension website noted that Japanese stiltgrass most often grows in disturbed, shaded and moist areas. Once established in places such as road sides and utility right of ways, it can spread into undisturbed areas as well.
I read that, once established, Japanese stiltgrass is nearly impossible to remove from an ecosystem. In addition to so many seeds per plant, the seeds can also stay viable in the soil for up to five years (again, according to Penn State Extension website).
WVU Extension website suggests some control methods: pulling the plants in small, newly established areas, as the roots are shallow; using mulch or landscape fabric in the spring to stunt new growth, when and where possible; some herbicides applied on both pre-emergent and post-emergent stages. Personally, I think the herbicides would likely do more harm to the ecosystem than the stiltgrass.
Japanese stiltgrass grows one to three feet tall, and the elongated leaves have a silvery strip running down each just a little off center. It's an annual, which dies back in the fall.
The native plant whitegrass (Leersia virginica) looks similar, and has a similar growth pattern. Differences include white hairs growing at the base of each leaf and taller flower stalks on whitegrass.
I did double check that the tangled mat of growth I'd spotted, and other patches that stood out to me as I began to notice it, was actually stiltgrass, and not a native.
Observing the growth along my road, and noticing how densely the stiltgrass was growing, I couldn't for the life of me remember what was growing in those spots before. I think there were a few plants, but it was mostly bare soil, so it makes sense that an aggressive grower would move in.
While I would prefer the native versions, which have an established role in a healthy ecosystem (such as seems to be few and far between now), I admit that I find the stiltgrass has an ethereal quality on the road side that I think is quite pretty.
I also wonder if, after over 100 years of Japanese stiltgrass spreading on this continent, some ecosystems have balanced out with the invading stiltgrass included.