Cutgrass, White Cutgrass, Leersia virginica, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Grasses of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Height	Prime Season
	Cutgrass	Leersia virginica Willd.	Poaceae (Grasses)	Woodland and Upland	15 to 40"	July to October
	Native Status	Cutgrass, also called Whitegrass. This native perennial is found in the United States from the great plains to the east coast and thus has a more restricted distribution than the other Leersia in the Garden - Rice Cutgrass. Likewise in Minnesota, distribution is more restricted than for Rice Cutgrass. L. virginica is found almost exclusively in the SE quadrant of the state.
Notes	Cutgrass is a cool-season grass found in moist places in wooded areas and near streams. Like Rice Cutgrass, the stiff leaves have tiny teeth on the edges which can easily tear clothing and cut flesh, hence the common name "cutgrass". Unlike Rice Cutgrass, the leaf sheaths are mostly smooth. Leaves are 3 to 7" long (6-17cm) and 6-11mm wide, droopy, usually smooth on top and hairy under. Flowering heads are only 3.5 to 7" long (9-18cm). Compared to Rice Cutgrass, leaves are narrower, shorter and flowering heads are shorter. The heads are usually fully emerged from the leaf sheaths, unlike Rice Cutgrass. The lower flowering heads are solitary whereas Rice Cutgrass branches. The spikelets are smaller than Rice Cutgrass and also overlap whereas Rice Cutgrass spikelets barely overlap. The genus, Leersia, is named for 18th Century German botanist Johann Daniel Leers. The species name, oryzoides is Greek for rice.


Photos above and upper left ©Phoebe Waugh, taken in the Upland Garden near the Curator's office.

Drawing above courtesy USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 28c, W2, W3, W5 & W6. Distribution principally from W2 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

©2011 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are the property of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden unless otherwise credited. "www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org"

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