Cogon in Colorado: An Alarming Case of Natural Reversion from the Ornamental Variety

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The highly aggressive Imperata cylindrica is normally considered an invasive weed, but it is sold as an ornamental in some places due to an attractive variety called Japanese Blood Grass or Red Baron.

This variety has reddish leaves and is significantly smaller than the wildtype form. It is also notably less competitive than the latter. In addition, flowering in this variety is extremely rare, and it is cold tolerant. 

Ornamental form in New Jersey

The problem with the ornamental variety is that it has been shown to revert to the aggressive green form under certain environmental conditions, and so this variety cannot be sold, traded, or grown in certain states that have major cogon grass problems. The fear is that it might hybridize with the green form to form very aggressive, and cold tolerant, varieties that can become problematic even in cooler areas.

Cogon grass stand in Broomfield, CO. The dense mass has started to insinuate itself into the nearby shrubbery.

Natural conversion from the ornamental to the green form is probably very rare, and in the many years that I have known it in New Jersey, I never encountered such an event. However, I was walking along a street in Broomfield, CO, when I had to do a double take and take a closer look at a stand of grasses. Rising from the dense mass were flowerheads that looked similar to the distinctive inflorescence of I. cylindrica. 

Spent flowerhead

Most had already lost their spikelets, but a few still had the characteristic fluffy white seeds of the species sticking to them.

White hairy seeds of I. cylindrica from the reverted stand

There was no trace of red blades in the stand, and the grasses were up to more than 1 meter tall, which is significantly taller than I've ever seen the ornamental variety grow. All indications pointed to the fact that these were wild type cogon grass. In fact, the stand looked exactly like any cogon grass stand in Florida, the dense mass almost excluding all other plants from living in it.

Spent flowerhead with a few fluffy seedheads still attached

I surveyed the area and found at least two stands of reverted cogon grass in the vicinity. In the second stand, there was a mixture of both ornamental and green forms, with the green forms sprouting multiple flowerheads as well. In both stands, a few other plants managed to hold onto their spots, including Bromus inermis, which is normally one of the dominant naturalized exotics here in the Boulder area. Most will probably succumb to the much denser and more aggressive I. cylindrica over time.

Dense mass of reverted Cogon grass fills up all the available space. The brown flowerheads to one side are from a few Bromus inermis that have survived in their midst

Broomfield, CO is definitely not a subtropical or tropical location, so to say that I was surprised to find green-form cogon grass in the place would be an understatement. The ornamental variety of cogon grass seems to be used here though, probably because the assumption is that the cold and snow would keep it in "safe mode".

The reverted wild type form is significantly taller than the ornamental form, and is green in color.

However, the record heat prevalent in the southwest right now is probably increasing the average temperature in this area as well. Add in the wet winter and spring this year, and conditions might be optimal enough for the ornamental variety to revert. 

Ornamental form between Calamagrostis spp.

The origin of the cogon grass is likely ornamental forms that had been planted along the sidewalk. I found a couple of these sandwiched in between the usual Calamagrostis ornamentals. 

The question on whether these naturally-reverted forms will continue to survive is important. Will the cold and winter of Colorado convert these back to the ornamental form going forward, or will the warming climate allow it to flourish and start aggressively taking over swathes of the environment?

Time will tell.

Note: I have contacted the relevant authorities who can handle these clusters, so they will probably be extirpated going forward.

Unlikely pairing of Bromus japonicus and Imperata cylindrica "Japanese Blood Grass"