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MEYER ZOYSIA AND ZOYSIA TENUFOLIA 
Meet the Loysia Family 
By WILLIAM W. NORDAN 
Nordan’s Grass Farm 
Abbeville, Alabama 
In the two previous issues of 
“Green Thumb”, you have been in- 
troduced to the father and mother of 
the prominent Zoysia grass family— 
Matrella and Japonica. In this con- 
cluding article on lawn grasses, I 
should like for you to meet the talk of 
the turf world, the promise of the 
future, the offspring of Japonica— 
Meyer Zoysia. This remarkable strain 
is the latest turf star to be released 
for your approval and admiration. 
After years of research, our turf 
specialists point with pride to Meyer 
as the best accomplishment of the turf 
improvement program. People who 
have seen a well established Meyer 
lawn can truthfully say that it is the 
lawn grass that we have been await- 
ing. 
Meyer Zoysia is one of the new im- 
proved turf grasses which has been 
recently developed by the United 
States Golf Association Green Section 
working with the Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, U.S. Department of Agricul- 
ture. This achievement was under- 
taken primarily for the improvement 
of golf course tees and fairways, but 
as in most cases, the ideal golfing 
grass is also desirable as a lawn grass. 
This newer wonder grass was re- 
leased to the public this past spring. 
It is a selected strain of the very 
hardy and better known Zoysia 
Japonica. By this, I mean that from 
scores of seed plantings of Japonica, 
this one strain was selected, tested, 
and proved to be the most outstand- 
ing turf grass to date. 
The name Meyer was selected as 
the most appropriate for this hardy 
grass and also honoring Frank N. 
Meyer, a plant explorer for the Bureau 
of Plant Industry. Mr. Meyer was 
born in Holland in 1875 and made his 
first exploration in Korea in 1905. 
His first collection of Zoysia seed was 
sent to the Department of Agriculture 
in 1906 from Korea under the scien- 
tific name of Zoysia pungens, which 
was later changed to Osterdamia 
pungens, and still later to Zoysia 
Japonica. 
For the home owner who has been 
wishing for a beautiful lawn free 
from crabgrass, “chinch bugs”, fungus, 
and summer weeds; then Meyer Zoy- 
sia is truly their dream come true. 
Meyer is much like the parent 
Zoysia Japonica in several ways as 
stated by Dr. Fred V. Grau in his 
recent article “Presenting Meyer 
Zoysia”. The similar traits are as 
follows: 1. It is adapted to any type 
of soil. 2. It thrives during the heat 
of summer. 3. It is very drought 
tolerant, needing less irrigation than 
most lawn grasses. 4. It is easy to 
mow when cut regularly and needs 
mowing less often than most turf 
grasses. 5. It can be mowed at 
heights at from one-half inch to 
four inches without loss of vigor and 
beauty. 6. It has a wide range of 
adaptation, having proved its winter 
hardiness in the northern states and 
heat resistance in Florida. 7. It pro- 
duces a firm, resilient cushion which 
delights everyone who uses it. 8. It 
is very resistant to wear. 9. It has a 
very pleasing color (about like Ken- 
tucky Bluegrass) during growing 
season. 10. It is a permanent grass. 
Meyer Zoysia ... Pleasing color like Kentucky 
Blue Grass. 
