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Ophiopogon planiscapus

Black Mondo Grass

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and flowes on erect stalk	49KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Black Mondo Grass, Black Lilyturf, Lily Turf, Mondo Grass

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Japan

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves, ground cover

KEY FEATURES: Grass-like, mat-forming herb to 15cm. LEAVES ~erect to spreading, linear, to 70-150x4mm, blackish-green (green or variegated). INFLO 1-3 flowers terminally on erect 150mm stalk, base 3-angled. FLOWER downward pointing, mauve to white. SEEDS blue-black. Main cv. 'Nigrescens' (Black Mondo Grass) has purple-black leaves.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Dwarf Mondo-grass (Ophiopogon japonicus).

Enlarged Image of 'Ophiopogon planiscapus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Ophiopogon planiscapus Nakai
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); LILIIDAE; Liliales; LILIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, Sue Carruther garden, 2003, ID GMcC as Ophiopogon japonicus and Re-ID GMcC based on BPBM research to Ophiopogon planiscapus 4/2004.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB04a, zM04a, zD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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