Skip to main content

Asiatic sand sedge (Carex kobomugi)

Asiatic sand sedge Common Names: Japanese sedge

Description: First observed in the United States, at Island Beach, New Jersey in 1929. Later planted for dune stability, trampling resistance and disease and fungal resistance.

Habit: Perennial, stout, coarse, growing up to 1 foot tall and with an overall yellow-green color. Forms extensive colonies through rhizomes.

Leaves: Small, coarse teeth along margins under magnification, arching, stiff and measures 3-6 mm wide. Leaves tend to be longer than stems.

Stems: Stout, triangular in cross section.

Flowers: Dioecious, numerous, subtended by scales and arranged in spikes at the end of a flowering stalk that is triangular. Flower from April to June.

Fruit and seeds: Each papery sac (perigynium) enclosing the female flowers, develop a single-seeded fruit, called an achene.

Habitat: Native to coastal areas of northeastern Asia. Found in dunes and on upper parts of ocean beach wash flats.

Reproduction: Primarily through extensive cord-like rhizomes.

Similar species: American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) and Bitter panicgrass (Panicum amarum).

Monitoring and rapid response: For small infestations, excavation of individual plants by digging or hand-pulling making sure to remove all parts of root system. Larger colonies may be controlled with 2% glyphosate and water solution applied to leaves during growing season.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group and the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


STATUS

Priority Species

Common Name:

Asiatic sand sedge

Scientific Name:

Carex kobomugi

Family:

Cyperaceae
(Sedge)

Duration:

Perennial

Habit:

Grasses

USDA Symbol:

CAKO2

View Species Course