Common Names: Nepalese browntop, Chinese packing grass, Basketgrass, Microstegium
Description: Introduced into the United States in Tennessee around 1919 and likely escaped as a result of its use as a packing material for porcelain.
Habit: Annual; grass, reaching 1 m (3.25 ft) in length. Lies on ground and roots at nodes along stems; upright branches look like individual plants.
Leaves: Alternate, pale green; asymmetrical; lanceolate; slightly pubescent; 5-8 cm (1.25-2 in) long, with a silvery line along the center of the blade.
Stems: Thin, weak roots form along the stem at nodes.
Habitat: Native to Asia and Japan; shade tolerant/ does not tolerate full sun or standing water. Found in streams and riverbanks, moist forest, roadsides, ditches on moist soils.
Reproduction: By seed. Very abundant which attach to animals, clothing; appears to be dispersed by deer. Seed persists in the seed bank for a long time.