464 MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



then introduced appears to be Zoysia japonica Steud. Recently a 

 fine-leaved species, Zoysia tenuifolia Willd. (Mascarene grass), has 

 been introduced in Florida and southern California (called in the 

 latter region Korean velvet grass) and has given favorable results. 

 These species may escape from cultivation. The original species, 

 Z. matrella (L.) Merr. (Z. pungens Willd.), called Manila grass (fig. 

 1001), is common in the Philippine Islands. 



Figure 1001 — Zoysia matrella. Plant, X H; spikelet and floret, X 10. (Whitford 1303, P.I.) 



In Z. japonica (Japanese lawngrass) the blades are flat and rather 

 stiff, 2 to 4 mm wide, the spikelets about 3 mm long and a little more 

 than 1 mm wide. The rhizomes are underground. In Z. tenuifolia 

 the blades are involute-capillary, the spikelets much narrower than in 

 Z. japonica. The stolons are at or near the surface of the soil. In 

 Z. matrella the spikelets are about 2.5 mm long and a little less than 

 1 mm wide. 



