Lilyturf

Description: Lilyturf (Chinese: 阔叶山麦冬) is a perennial with grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall. It is an understory plant in China, Japan, and Korea occurring in shady forests at elevations of 330–4,600 ft (101–1,402 m).[1] It is a tufted, grass-like perennial which typically grows 30–45 cm (12–18 in) tall and features clumps of strap-like, arching, glossy, dark green leaves to ½ inch wide (1.3 cm). Clumps slowly expand by short stolons to a width of about 30 cm (12 in), but plants do not spread aggressively. Roots are fibrous, often with terminal tubers. The small, showy flowers occur on erect spikes with tiered whorls of dense, white to violet-purple flowers rising above the leaves in late summer. Flowers resemble those of grape hyacinth (Muscari), which is the origin of the species name. Flowers develop into blackish berries which often persist into winter. Lilyturf is deer resistant. There is considerable variation in leaf color and size among a number of recognized cultivars.

Locations in Campus: Next to 1879 Hall.

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