Tag: Imperata cylindrica
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Quick 2025 Update on Imperata cylindrica in Colorado
I did a quick visit to the site of the cogon infestation that was reported in Colorado in 2023. The original article in 2023: Cogon in Colorado: An Alarming Case of Natural Reversion from the Ornamental Variety Two years after being reported and treated, the infestation of cogon still managed to show itself. It looks…
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iNatting on iNaturalist: The Pluses and Minuses
I finally decided to try out iNaturalist in earnest a week or so back, after I had created an account three years ago. If I remember correctly, I had used it before to see whether specific grasses were going to be present during one of our trips. iNaturalist of course is a website (and phone…
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Cogon Grass in Colorado: Proof that Winter-Hardy and Aggressive Reversions are Possible
Imperata cylindrica (Cogon grass) in the USA exists in two divergent forms. The first is the wild type form, which is considered cold-intolerant, fairly large, very aggressive, and has uniformly green leaves. In contrast, an ornamental variety that is very cold-tolerant has reddish-green leaves and is much shorter than the wild form. It is also…
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Living the High Life: Dwarf Bamboo and Other Montane Grasses in the Philippines
The warm and humid tropical regions of Southeast Asia has extensive tracts of forests, although it has not always been this way. But hike up into the mountains and amazing sights will greet the traveler, because once he or she moves up past the tree line, the world opens up as montane grasslands and their…
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An Unlucky Parking Lot, Clonal Lineages, and Self-Incompatibility in Imperata cylindrica (Cogongrass)
Three years ago, I chronicled the invasion of an island in a parking lot by Imperata cylindrica (cogon grass), and how the property owners removed all vegetation from the affected island a few months later. This included two trees that probably were affected by whatever herbicide they used. Throughout the years, the island had remained…
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Grass: “Let me help you there, Forest…”
The concept of using biotic resistance by natives to prevent invasives from making inroads into natural areas is nothing new. One of the earliest examples of this is the hypothesis that diversity in either species or function is a way for natural communities to resist encroachment by invasive species. This so-called Elton Hypothesis postulates that…
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An irresistible force meets an immovable object?
I’ve been doing a long running observation on a stand of Imperata cylindrica (Cogon grass) in Florida since 2021, with the cogon grass rapidly overwhelming its competitors as it spread laterally along a roadside. For a history of this series of observations: April 2021Rapid expansion of an invasive grass as viewed using Google StreetView December…