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Japanese Blood Grass

Imperata cylindrica · Poaceae

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: No test or rating condition is normalized.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 3 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Global; North Carolina / southeastern US; Ohio / Midwest; South Florida
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

Typed publication scope: 2 scopes across 2 cited fire sources

Landscaping to Reduce Wildfire Risk: South Florida Edition · Official scoped edition
- South Florida (FL footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2013-04-09
  Florida Forest Service labels this publication the South Florida Edition. FireApproved publishes eight exact owners from its explicit narrative hazard callouts as South Florida context. It is not a statewide ranked list and its source-wide guidance is not projected onto unnamed plants.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
- OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01
  Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, OH, OR, SC, TX, VA.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: 9 sourced range or established records; set a location to match them. This is not an invasive warning.
USDA hardiness: Documented range 5a–9b.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: 4 legal-list records; set a location to match exact scope.
Seed-list status: 3 state noxious-weed seed records; set a location to match exact scope.
Reported invasive here: 1 ecological invasive report; set a location to distinguish exact from regional context.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

Plant-specific legal-list reviews (1)

These source-bound review receipts are separate from ecological invasive reports. A source or plant identity change invalidates a receipt.

VA · Noxious-listed here. Designated noxious listed in the reviewed Virginia 2VAC5-317 Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 Noxious Weeds as of 2026-08-26. Authority: Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services; scope: state; as of 2026-08-26. Official reference. Normalized source record.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata cylindrica) — Photo: (c) 蜻蜓, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: grass
USDA hardiness: 5a–9b
Grows in: AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, OH, OR, SC +2
Rated in: Global; North Carolina / southeastern US; Ohio / Midwest; South Florida
Family: Poaceae
Evidence: 7 cited sources

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

0

exact source areas

Current introduced

9

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

9 introduced source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alabama (AL)
Florida (FL)
Georgia (GA)
Louisiana (LA)
Mississippi (MS)
Oregon (OR)
South Carolina (SC)
Texas (TX)
Virginia (VA)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — plant profiles and flammability ratings · record imperata-cylindrica · live profile accessed 2026-08-26 · as of 2026-08-26

5a–9b explicit range · half zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Imperata cylindrica · exact match.

Source location: Imperata cylindrica profile, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone field.

Legal restrictions and listings.

NY · prohibited · Prohibited invasive species — specified possession, trade, transport, introduction, propagation, and disposal rules · Authority: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Source: New York 6 NYCRR Part 575 Prohibited and Regulated Invasive Species , record new-york:part-575:plant:031, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: No person may knowingly possess this prohibited invasive species with intent to sell, import, purchase, transport, or introduce it; sale, import, purchase, transport, introduction, and propagation are prohibited, and disposal must render it nonliving and nonviable. (official condition)
operational exception: Possession or transport for identification or disposal, and control or management of pre-existing invasive species, remain exempt when handled within Part 575's no-spread boundary. (official condition)
permit required: A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit is required to carry out a prohibited activity for research, education, or another approved activity: possession with intent to sell, import, purchase, transport, or introduction. (official condition)

United States · noxious listed · Federal noxious weed · Authority: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Source: Federal noxious weed designations, 7 CFR 360.200 , record 7-cfr-360.200:imperata-cylindrica, 2026-08-24.

UT · prohibited · Class 4: Prohibited · Authority: Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Source: State of Utah Noxious Weed List (R68-9) , record utah-r68-9:4:imperata-cylindrica, 2026-08-26.

VA · noxious listed · Tier 2 noxious weed — Present in the Commonwealth; successful eradication or suppression is feasible · Authority: Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Source: Virginia 2VAC5-317 Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 Noxious Weeds , record 2vac5-317-20:tier-2:01, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: A regulated article is any listed noxious weed or any article carrying or capable of carrying a listed noxious weed. Move means to ship, offer for shipment, receive for transportation, carry, or otherwise transport, move, or allow to be moved. The movement of a regulated article is prohibited unless accompanied by a valid certificate or permit. (official condition)
operational exception: The movement rule allows either a valid certificate or a permit to accompany the regulated article. A certificate is issued or authorized by the commissioner and indicates that the regulated article is not contaminated with a noxious weed. A permit is issued by the commissioner for movement of regulated articles to restricted destinations for limited handling, utilization, processing, or scientific purposes. (official condition)

Legal designations are separate from ecological invasion reports and fire performance. Read the named class, taxonomic scope, authority, and operating conditions before acting.

State noxious-weed seed records. Prohibited noxious-weed seed · GA (USDA source, usda-ams-state-noxious-weed-seed-2026:GA:010, section “Prohibited”) · Prohibited noxious-weed seed · HI (USDA source, usda-ams-state-noxious-weed-seed-2026:HI:025, section “Prohibited”) · Prohibited noxious-weed seed · UT (USDA source, usda-ams-state-noxious-weed-seed-2026:UT:016, section “(i) Prohibited noxious weed seeds are the seeds of any plant determined by the department to be injurious to public health, crops, livestock, land, or other property and that are especially troublesome and difficult to control and”)

These are state seed-sheet listings in the Federal Seed Act agricultural-and-vegetable-seed context. Each row keeps its printed category, governing seed section, row limitations, and proven note references; consult the official source for complete conditions. It never becomes a non-seed plant restriction, ecological-invasive warning, nursery restriction, alternative-ranking signal, product result, or fire-evidence vote.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Firewise Landscaping: plant in Zone 2-3 or beyond [OSU B921 source-category siting] (with its avoid rating)
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: imperata-cylindrica [nc-toolbox-flammability-facet] (with its avoid rating)
Landscaping to Reduce Wildfire Risk: South Florida Edition: cogon grass [South Florida guide narrative callouts] (with its avoid rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (3)

Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) — Ohio State University Extension (Sydnor, Steward, Kloss / Ohio DNR Division of Forestry) · 2006 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H flammability”

Forms colonies; species is invasive but fruitless clones are reported.
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — plant profiles and flammability ratings — NC State Extension (plants.ces.ncsu.edu) · live facet capture accessed 2026-08-23 · original source Corroboration Expert-curated lineage: bardon-2005 (partial)

“high flammability; extreme flammability (listed under both tags)” · original source

NC Toolbox facet capture lists "Imperata cylindrica" under the high and extreme flammability tags.
Landscaping to Reduce Wildfire Risk: South Florida Edition — Florida Forest Service · South Florida Edition · original source Corroboration Expert-curated lineage: unknown

“Many invasive plants are extremely flammable and include: melaleuca, lygodium, downy rose myrtle, cogon grass, and eucalyptus.”

Named in the guide's list of extremely flammable invasive plants.

Listed without a rating (4)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

4 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “time to flaming (s): 27” · score 27 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1124; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Cardoso2018-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cardoso2018: Cardoso, A. W., Oliveras, I., Abernethy, K. A., Jeffery, K. J., Lehmann, D., Ndong, J. E., ... Malhi, Y.S. (2018). Grass Species Flammability, Not Biomass, Drives Changes in Fire Behavior at Tropical Forest-Savanna Transitions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 1, 6.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 3797.64” · score 3797.64 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 1127; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Cardoso2018-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cardoso2018: Cardoso, A. W., Oliveras, I., Abernethy, K. A., Jeffery, K. J., Lehmann, D., Ndong, J. E., ... Malhi, Y.S. (2018). Grass Species Flammability, Not Biomass, Drives Changes in Fire Behavior at Tropical Forest-Savanna Transitions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 1, 6.
- “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 661” · score 661 (FLAMITS — maximum energy flux (kW/m²))
  
  FLAMITS record 1130; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Cardoso2018-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cardoso2018: Cardoso, A. W., Oliveras, I., Abernethy, K. A., Jeffery, K. J., Lehmann, D., Ndong, J. E., ... Malhi, Y.S. (2018). Grass Species Flammability, Not Biomass, Drives Changes in Fire Behavior at Tropical Forest-Savanna Transitions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 1, 6.
- “mass loss rate (g/s): 0.48” · score 0.48 (FLAMITS — mass loss rate (g/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1133; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Cardoso2018-1; sampling ND. Primary study Cardoso2018: Cardoso, A. W., Oliveras, I., Abernethy, K. A., Jeffery, K. J., Lehmann, D., Ndong, J. E., ... Malhi, Y.S. (2018). Grass Species Flammability, Not Biomass, Drives Changes in Fire Behavior at Tropical Forest-Savanna Transitions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 1, 6.

Fire-resistant grasss instead

Fescue, Tall
Festuca arundinacea

Tall fescue
Lolium arundinaceum

Bottlebrush sedge
Carex comosa

Fox sedge
Carex vulpinoidea

Woolgrass bulrush
Scirpus cyperinus

Whitegrass
Leersia virginica

Fire-resistant grasss listed above

Last verified 2026-08-26. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · ITIS

Imperata cylindrica (Japanese Blood Grass). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/imperata-cylindrica/. Last verified 2026-08-26.