Korea Flora: Habita A perennial herb commonly growing in mountains and fields, 30-80cm tall, with well-developed rhizomes bearing hairs at the nodes.

Leaves 20-50cm × 7-12mm, apex acute, base gradually narrowed, leaf sheath hairy, ligule short.

Flowers The first and second glumes are membranous, lanceolate with acute apex, slightly veined; lemma extremely small, awnless. Stamens 2, 2.5-3mm long; stigma bifid, exserted, blackish-purple.

Inflorescence Inflorescence emerges in May, before the leaves. Cylindrical inflorescence 10-20cm long, branching 1-2 times from the main stem, with 2 spikelets of unequal length at each node. Spikelets oblong, 3.5-4.5mm long, lanceolate with acute apex, glabrous, densely covered with silvery-white hairs approximately 12mm long at the base.

Fruits and Seeds [No description provided]

Distribution Distributed nationwide

Japan Flora: Rhizomes elongate; culms 3分-80 cm. long, rather slender, firm, long-hairy on nodes; leaf-blades flat, linear, 20-50 cm. long, 7-12 mm. wide, acuminate, gradually narrowed to a petiole­like base, scabrous; ligules truncate, very short; sheaths smooth or often long-pilose; panicles spikelike, nearly erect, silvery white, 10-20 cm. long, cylindric, the racemes less than 3 cm. long, sparsely long-hairy; spikelets lanceolate, 35-4.5 mm. long, glabrous, terete, acute, with a tuft of silvery white hairs about 12 mm. long at the base; glumes lanceolate, acuminate, membranous, few-nerved; stamens 2, 2.5-3 mm. long; stigma blackish purple, lanceolate in outline. May-June, Waste grounds in lowlands

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; very common.  In temperate regions.  

f. pallida Honda. Culm-nodes gla­brous; common within our area. China, Korea, and Northeast China 

Imperata cylindrica var. major (Nees) C. E. Hubb. The tropical phase, which differs from ours in the larger panicles with smaller, narrower stigmas.