Large Asiatic grasses grown for their robust foliage and decorative silvery plumes in late summer through late fall. Two species escape along roadsides, in old fields and other disturbed successional habitats, as well as dumps. Miscanthus sacchariflorus is perhaps spread mostly by construction equipment and discarding of garden refuse.

An apparent hybrid of Miscanthus sacchariflorus and M. sinensis is known as M. ×giganteus. It is a huge grass, reaching to 4 m tall, and sometimes grown as a living fence or tall specimen patch. It is apparently sterile, but may escape if dumped with yard waste.

 

 

1. Awns absent or shorter than the glumes, inconspicuous in the spikelets; callus hairs more than twice as long as the spikelets.

M. sacchariflorus

1. Awns conspicuous in the spikelets and much longer than the glumes; callus hairs less than twice as long as the spikelets.

M. sinensis