Japanese Stilt-grass
Microstegium vimineum
Found in disturbed areas, colonizing moist, rich soil, especially in floodplains, though sometimes patchily in even dry or moderately dry uplands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Virginia.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- September to November
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 100 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 180 animals.
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
Who uses this plant?
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Japanese Stilt grass; Japanese Stiltgrass; Nepalese Browntop
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR [G5] |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Virginia DCR invasive plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























