Plants rhizomatous. Culm internodes 2-10 mm. Sheaths glabrous; ligules 0.05-0.25 mm; blades to 6.5 cm long, 0.5-5 mm wide, ascending,
flat to loosely involute when fully hydrated, involute when stressed, surfaces
glabrous or pilose. Peduncles exserted, extending 0.8-6.5 cm beyond the
sheaths of the flag leaves. Racemes 2.5-4.5 cm, with 25-50 spikelets; pedicels
1.6-3.5 mm. Spikelets 2.5-3.4 mm long, 1-1.4 mm wide, ovate, awned, awns
0.1-1.1 mm. 2n = 40.
Zoysia japonica was the first species of Zoysia introduced
into cultivation in the United States, with the introduction of the cultivar
'Meyer' in the 1950s. It is the most cold-tolerant and coarsely textured
of the three species that have been introduced to the Flora region,
and is the only species that is currently available as seed in the United
States. The other two species treated here can be established from seed,
but there are currently no commercial sources for either one in the United
States.
Plants with shallow rhizomes, forming a dense turf, growing vigorously in hot sun, but early becoming brown and dormant; lvs flat, 3-10 cm נ2-5 mm; infls 2-4 cm, arising only (or scarcely) ca 1 dm above the ground; spikelets 3-3.5 mm, pale purplish-brown; 2n=40. Native of e. Asia, cult. in warm temperate regions as a lawngrass, casually
escaped mainly in the s. part of our range.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.