''Liriope muscari'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

from From may refer to: People *Isak From (born 1967), Swedish politician *Martin Severin From (1825–1895), Danish chess master * Sigfred From (1925–1998), Danish chess master Media * ''From'' (TV series), a sci-fi-horror series that debuted ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass. This small

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

has grass-like

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall. It is invasive to North America and considered a threat to native wildlife.

Description

It is an understory plant in China, Japan, and Korea occurring in shady forests at elevations of .Plants for a Future: ''Liriope muscari''.
/ref> It typically grows tall and features clumps of strap-like, arching, glossy, dark green leaves to ½ inch wide (1.3 cm). Clumps slowly expand by short stolons to a width of about , but plants do not spread aggressively. Roots are fibrous, often with terminal tubers. The small, showy flowers occur on erect spikes with tiered whorls of dense, white to violet-purple flowers rising above the leaves in late summer. Flowers resemble those of grape hyacinth (''

Muscari ''Muscari'' is a genus (biology), genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers resembling bunches of grapes in the spring. The common name for the genus is grape hyacint ...

''), which is the origin of the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

. Flowers develop into blackish berries which often persist into winter. Lilyturf is deer resistant. There is considerable variation in leaf color and size among a number of recognized cultivars.

Distinguishing characteristics

Distinguishing species in the genus ''Liriope'' is difficult at best, and mistaken identity occurs in commercial nurseries. ''L. muscari'' is distinguished from ''

Liriope spicata ''Liriope spicata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Asparagaceae''. It is native to Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It is sometimes referred to by the common names creeping lilyturf, creeping liriope, lilyturf, ...

'', the other most common species in the genus, by its fibrous rather than

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

root system, its more prominent flower spike extending above the leaves (creeping lilyturf has a shorter spike more within leaves), and its generally wider and longer leaves.

Cultivation

Landscape uses include borders (along sidewalks, trails, driveways, shrubbery, and trees) and mass plantings as

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

. Lilyturf can be established on steep slopes where erosion control is needed. Minimal maintenance is required. Being an easy plant to grow, it is one of the most popular groundcovers in the southeastern United States and areas with a similar climate, and is commonly used in

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

in temperate climates as border plants and groundcover. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

''Liriope muscari'' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. The species is easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Ideal conditions are moist, fertile soils with partial shade. However, lilyturf tolerates a wide range of light and soil conditions. Lilyturf is also tolerant of heat, humidity, and drought. The evergreen foliage often turns brown in late winter; old foliage can be cut back or mowed at a high setting before new shoots appear in early spring. Lilyturf is suitable for

USDA Hardiness Zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

s 6 to 10. It might be grown in zone 5 in sheltered locations or if protected during severe winter weather.

Propagation

Seeds

The plant is difficult to reproduce from seed due to several factors. The fruit's pulp contains phenolic compounds that inhibit germination, and thus need to be removed to promote germination. In addition, seeds have a morphological dormancy because the embryo is not fully developed when the fruit ripens; a period of warm stratification is required to complete maturation. Lastly, the seeds do not store well. Cleaned seeds can be sown outdoors after the fruit ripens in early fall, recognizing that germination will be slow the following spring. Rapid germination can be promoted by warm, moist stratification of cleaned seed under dark conditions for 8 weeks at 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) for optimum germination. Stratified seeds can be started indoors or in a heated greenhouse during the dormant season or they may be sown outdoors after the threat of frost has passed.

Division

Lilyturf is easily reproduced by dividing the root mass. The optimum time to do this is during the dormant season before the onset of new growth. Plants produced by division are identical to the mother plant; thus cultivar traits will be retained.

Problems

No serious diseases or pests occur for cultivated ''Liriope muscari''. Root rot (''

Pythium ''Pythium'' is a genus of parasitic oomycetes. They were formerly classified as fungi. Most species are plant parasites, but '' Pythium insidiosum'' is an important pathogen of animals, causing pythiosis. The feet of the fungus gnat are fre ...

'') has been reported.

Anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

fungus sometimes causes reddish streaks in the leaves.

Scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

s have been reported to cause unsightly reddish spots on leaves during late summer. Slugs and snails are occasional pests. Some people feel that lilyturf in the United States has been overused as a landscaping plant and that functionally suitable native plants such as Florida gamagrass can be used in its place.Go Native: Dwarf gamma grass vs Liriope.
Lilyturf is reported to have little wildlife value.

Other uses

The roots, which often have fleshy tubers near their tip, are used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

References

Other online resources

Missouri Botanical Garden: Kemper Center for Home Gardening: ''Liriope muscari''.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q141540 Nolinoideae Flora of Asia Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Garden plants of Asia Groundcovers Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne