Cogongrass

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Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is an invasive, non-native grass which occurs in the southeastern United States. A pest in 73 countries and considered to be one to the "Top 10 Worst Weeds in the World", cogongrass affects pine productivity and survival, wildlife habitat, recreation, native plants, fire behavior, site management costs and more. Cogongrass has several common names, including japgrass, Japanese bloodgrass, Red Baron or speargrass.

This perennial grass from Southeast Asia was introduced into the United States in 1911 near Mobile, Alabama as packing material in a shipment of plants from Japan and into Mississippi as a forage crop before 1920. Later it was introduced into Florida for forage and soil stabilization. Cogongrass was found to be unsuitable for forage and its ability to rapidly spread and displace desirable vegetation outweighed any soil erosion control considerations. Although the transport of this plant into and throughout the United States is prohibited by federal law, cogongrass continues to spread throughout the southeast gulf coast threatening forests, rangelands, natural areas, roadsides and residential areas.

Cogongrass is currently documented in 62 of the 82 counties in Mississippi and has become a serious problem for land managers in the southern part of the state.

(See map - Distribution - Mississippi below). To report a sighting of this invasive grass, call Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce - Bureau of Plant Industry at (662) 325-3390.

Distribution

(Map Source: USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Plants Database. Click to enlarge picture)

Mississippi counties with significant levels of cogongrass infestation.   (Map Source:  Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Click to enlarge picture).

Cogongrass Interactive Map for the state of Alabama. (Map Source: Alabama Forestry Commission. Click to enlarge picture.)

Listen to our Cogongrass Radio PSA (mp3)
Press Release - State Forestry Agencies Join Forces To Combat Cogongrass(Posted 6/18/2009)
Video - Cogongrass: The Perfect Weed.  Developed and Produced by the Coastal Plains RC&D Center.  22 minutes.
Video - Cogongrass On Fire.  Filmed on location in Alabama. 4.22 minutes.

Cogongrass Links

Cogongrass - Developed by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia.
Field Guide To The Identification of Cogongrass - (3.78 mb Adobe pdf document).
Wanted Dead Not Alive: Cogongrass - Auburn University
Plant Profile - USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Plants Database

For more information on MFC's Cogongrass Program, Contact:

Jim Hancock

Invasive Plant Control Program Coordinator

P.O. Box 749

515 County Farm Lane NE

Brookhaven, Mississippi 39602-0749

(601) 833-6621 office(601) 720-0238 cell

jhancock@mfc.state.ms.us