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 Japanese stiltgrass is a sprawling, annual grass growing up to three feet in height. Its alternate leaves are three inches long, flat, lance-shaped and pale-green with an off-center mid-vein and a silvery stripe of hairs down the middle of the upper leaf surface. Delicate flowers emerge from the tips, starting in late summer and continuing into fall. Seeds persist through the fall.
First documented in Tennessee around 1919, stiltgrass may have accidentally escaped as a result of its use in Asia as a packing material for porcelain. Most commonly an invader of forested floodplains, Japanese stiltgrass is also found in ditches, forest edges, fields, and trails.
Japanese stiltgrass is a colonial species that spreads during the summer and fall by rooting at stem nodes that touch the ground. Individual plants may produce up to 1,000 seeds that fall near the parent plant, are carried by water currents during heavy rains, or are moved through contaminated hay, soil, footwear, and vehicles. Stiltgrass seed remains viable for 5 years. It spreads to form extensive patches, displacing native species, and may alter soil chemistry.
This plant can be hand-pulled or cut, using a weed whacker on smaller infestations. For large infestations, a systemic herbicide or an herbicidal soap may be used.
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