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Cogon Grass🌾
Imperata cylindrica
チガヤ
A grass family perennial that forms dense colonies in sunny grasslands, embankments, and wastelands. In spring, it produces white silky plumes that color the landscape. It has vigorous rhizomes, making it a persistent and hard-to-eradicate weed. The young inflorescences have a sweet taste and were traditionally eaten as a children's snack.
Identification Points
- ✓Produces white, silky-haired plumes in spring
- ✓Leaves are linear and rigid; edges can cut skin
- ✓Spreads aggressively via robust rhizomes
- ✓Common in sunny, dry habitats
Habitat
Grasslands, embankments, roadsides, and wastelands
Season
April–June (flowers and plumes)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Linear
Growth form
Herb
Petal fusion
No petals
Flowering season
Spring
Habitat
Grassland
Phylogenetic Positionイネ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Commelinids > Poales > Poaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 80–70 million years ago)
Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification