Wavyleaf basketgrass is a growing threat to our forests, but one that can be stopped. Originally identified in Howard County, MD in 1996, by 2004 it had colonized the Potomac River and moved south along the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah National Park.
What It Looks Like
Wavyleaf basketgrass is a shade-tolerant perennial grass with high potential to overtake other plants and become one of the worst invasive plants in our area. This section has pictures and descriptions to help you identify it if you see it.
Wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius)
Photo by: Kerrie Kyde
Wavyleaf or Impostor?
Wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius) is sometimes mistakenly identified as Japanese stiltgrass, Arthraxon, or native Deer Tongue. Learn how to tell them apart.
Wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius) is sometimes mistakenly identified as Japanese stiltgrass, Arthraxon, or native Deer Tongue. Check out the pictures below to learn how to tell them apart.
Japanese Stiltgrass
Arthraxon
Deer Tongue
Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)- EXOTIC
Arthraxon (Arthraxon hispidus)- EXOTIC
Deer Tongue (Panicum clandestinum)- NATIVE
Why Is This Plant Bad?
Wavyleaf basketgrass is one of many exotic, invasive plants that have been introduced to our area. Read more about how invasive species like this one crowd out native trees and create other problems in our forest.
The ecosystems in Virginia have evolved over millennia through interactions among organisms. The native plant communities feed and shelter a vast array of insects and other wildlife, which in turn help propagate the plants through pollinating flowers, transporting seeds, and sometimes even altering the habitat to make it easier for plants to grow.
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Many people think the above forest looks lovely and natural. It is not. This wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. undulatifolius) monoculture prevents tree seedlings from germinating and shades out small native plants. |
This picture shows the contrast between a healthy forest floor and the astro-turf effect of wavyleaf basketgrass (at left). |
Disrupting the Balance by Introducing Exotic Species
Our forests and meadows are communities in which every living thing has a role. Specific insects can eat or pollinate specific plants, nutrients are recycled through the system in a finely balanced way, and different species shelter, feed, or control each other. Each organism, by doing its part, helps create the conditions that the others need to survive.
But because wavyleaf basketgrass did not evolve on this continent, the local insects and other animals either can't or won't eat it. With nothing to slow or stop its growth, it forms a solid carpet on the forest floor, shading out small plants that the animals could eat and leaving no room for seedling trees to sprout. Fewer animals can find food, and with no new trees coming up, the adult trees cannot reproduce.
Luckily, wavyleaf basketgrass is a new invasive and we have a chance to stop it and reverse the damage to our forests and meadows.