Mondo grass
Encyclopedia
Ophiopogon japonicus
Ophiopogon japonicus (Mondo grass, Fountain plant, monkey grass; ("dragon's beard") or ジャノヒゲ ja-no-hige ("snake's beard") is a species of Ophiopogon
native to Japan
.
, sod-forming perennial plant
. The leaves
are linear, 20–40 cm long. The flower
s are white to pale lilac, borne in a short raceme
on a 5–10 cm stem. The fruit
is a blue berry
5 mm diameter. The roots are large stolens with tuberous roots.
, known as mai men dong , is the cardinal herb for yin
deficiency. According to the Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, the herb is sweet, slightly bitter and slightly cold, enters the heart, lung and stomach channels and nourishes the yin of the stomach, spleen, heart and lungs and clears heat and quiets irritability. It is believed to be useful for hacking dry coughs, dry tongue and mouth and constipation. Liriope spicata
is used as a substitute.
, providing an excellent groundcover
. Several cultivar
s have been selected, including 'Albus' (white flowers), 'Compactus' and 'Kyoto Dwarf' (dwarf forms, not over 4–5 cm tall), and 'Silver Mist' (variegated, with white-striped leaves). It is often sold as a decorative plant for freshwater aquaria
, but because it is not a true aquatic plant
, it may flourish for a few months and then die. While hardy to temperatures of about -20 °C when dormant in winter outdoors in normal soil, when kept fully submerged it requires water temperatures of 18-25 °C. It grows well in full sun or partial shade. Propagation is from side shoots.
Ophiopogon japonicus (Mondo grass, Fountain plant, monkey grass; ("dragon's beard") or ジャノヒゲ ja-no-hige ("snake's beard") is a species of Ophiopogon
Ophiopogon
Ophiopogon is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants with about 65 species, native to warm temperate to tropical east, southeast, and south Asia. The name of the genus is derived from Greek Όφις ophis, "snake", and πόγὦν pogon, "beard", most probably referring to its leaves and its tuffed growth...
native to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Growth
It is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
, sod-forming perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are linear, 20–40 cm long. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are white to pale lilac, borne in a short raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
on a 5–10 cm stem. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a blue berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
5 mm diameter. The roots are large stolens with tuberous roots.
Traditional uses
In Chinese medicine Ophiopogon japonicus tuberTuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
, known as mai men dong , is the cardinal herb for yin
Yin and yang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
deficiency. According to the Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, the herb is sweet, slightly bitter and slightly cold, enters the heart, lung and stomach channels and nourishes the yin of the stomach, spleen, heart and lungs and clears heat and quiets irritability. It is believed to be useful for hacking dry coughs, dry tongue and mouth and constipation. Liriope spicata
Liriope spicata
Liriope spicata is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plants from East Asia. Common names include creeping lilyturf, lilyturf, and monkey grass. This perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and is commonly used in landscaping in temperate climates as groundcover...
is used as a substitute.
Characteristics
It is also grown as an ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
, providing an excellent groundcover
Groundcover
Groundcover refers to any plant that grows over an area of ground, used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to improve its aesthetic appearance .- Ecosystem :...
. Several cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have been selected, including 'Albus' (white flowers), 'Compactus' and 'Kyoto Dwarf' (dwarf forms, not over 4–5 cm tall), and 'Silver Mist' (variegated, with white-striped leaves). It is often sold as a decorative plant for freshwater aquaria
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, but because it is not a true aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
, it may flourish for a few months and then die. While hardy to temperatures of about -20 °C when dormant in winter outdoors in normal soil, when kept fully submerged it requires water temperatures of 18-25 °C. It grows well in full sun or partial shade. Propagation is from side shoots.