Flower Index Index by Family Set 1 Set 2 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6 Set 7

Lirope | Monkey Grass, Liliturf, Spider Grasss

First bloom dates:

2017 July 23

2019 - Dug it all up because the snakes liked to hide in them

Lirope | Monkey Grass, Liliturf, Spider Grass

Asparagaceae (Asparagus Family) (Pronounced ah-spare-a-gay-see-eye)

Pronounced Lih-rye-oh-pee

The name "Lirope" is from a nymph (female nature deity -- is that like mother nature? -- more like a maiden inhabiting woods and rivers) in Greek mythology who was they mother of Narcissus.

I really did love our Monkey Grass and the small purple flowers, but when I continually found garden snakes making their home inside the tight grasses, it was time for them to go.

Maybe I should have tried growing in a container. That is an idea I am saving for myself.

There is little maintenance for Monkey Grass, but when it did get too big and needed to be divided, the shovel work and disposal was not an easy task. We had spread it around to may spots, but eventually dug it all up.

The flowers are a lovely pale-purple and spike-like and later the blackberry-colored fruit comes along. I never did like the fruit and when it reached this stage would often prune it back heavily with a pair of scissors.

The plant is not a true grass. The grass-like leaves are lump-forming.

The plant loves full sun.

Some varieties have variegated leaves.

The plant is hard to kill and is great for rocks and slopes to stop erosion.

Two common species are Lirope muscari (lih-RYE-oh-pee Mus-KAY-ree) and Lirope spicata (lih-RYE-oh-pee spih-KAH-tah), but I have no idea what species my plants were. The species spicata is more aggressive growing.

2017