About Leersia virginica Willd.
Leersia virginica Willd., commonly known as whitegrass, white cutgrass, or Virginian cutgrass, is a perennial grass native to eastern North America. It typically grows in partially shaded, low-lying wet areas, and has been observed in habitats including streambanks, swamps, and floodplain forests. Its blooming season runs from mid-summer to early fall. This species can be distinguished from the related rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) by several key traits. Whitegrass has smoother leaf sheaths, solitary lower branches on its flowering heads, smaller and more strongly overlapping spikelets, and short rhizomes with overlapping scales. By contrast, rice cutgrass has rough leaf sheaths sharp enough to cause painful scratches, two or more branches at the lowest nodes of its flowering heads, larger spikelets that barely overlap, and more elongated rhizomes with scales that usually do not overlap.
