One of my customers has these two wonderful grasses growing in his yard. They are growing in shade and have spread nicely this summer. I am not sure what they are but I am about 85% sure I identified them correctly. I hope I can get some master gardeners to trial them and some local nurseries to start growing them because I know as a landscape designer I am always looking for plants like these. I know some other designer and landscape architect friends that would want these too.

The first is a groundcover that I mistook for white Tradescantia until I saw it blooming- the flowers are clearly flowers of a plant in the grass family. The stems are waxy like a grass as well. I think it is Oplismenus hirtellus which is native to Texas. It is very short- less than 6” tall in this situation. It is on a hillside in a wooded area under Live Oaks and Cedars. It took off a grew very quickly after large Photinias were removed from the area. The soil here is nice- relatively deep and undisturbed. The plants get some irrigation from a big rotor but the area is mostly dry. The flowers are pink. More info here: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OPHI

The second is a short grass that is bright lime-green (one of my favorite colors) and it is quite short but still upright… and growing in shade! I’m pretty sure it is Rice Cutrgass, Leersia monandra. It is growing with very little irrigation, if any, on the same hillside as the other plant listed above. I think it would be a great candidate for yards where St Augustine grass died. I have been using sedges for that purpose but I have found some of the sedges to be short-lived, and most are dark green and spread out on the ground. I love the sedges but I like the bright green and upright habit of this grass better. Willie at Barton Springs Nursery verified my identification of this one. More Info: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LEMO

Enjoy the photos and one scan.

Oplismenus hirtellus? Not sure if that is the correct ID. This image is a scan of a stem.

Oplismenus hirtellus? Makes a great groundcover in shade. Basketgrass… native to Texas, I hope.

Basketgrass native to Texas, I think… Oplismenus hirtellus- photo taken in November after a freeze so the white spots on the leaves are cold damage. You can’t tell from the photo but the flowers are pink.

Leersia monandra. My photos don’t do it justice.