Achyranthes japonica (Miq.) Nakai
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Detail
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Botanical Name
- Achyranthes japonica (Miq.) Nakai
- Common Name
- Japanese Chaff Flower
- Synonym(s)
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Not in Flora of Virginia; discovered after its publication.
- Comments
- Native to eastern Asia, Achyranthes japonica was first documented in the eastern U.S. in the 1980's. It is now known from at least nine states to the west and south of Virginia (ALA, GA, ILL, IND, KY, MO, OH, TN, WVA) and is especially well established in the Ohio River drainage. The plants introduced to North America apparently belong to var. hachijoensis Honda; they are sometimes grown for medicinal purposes. Japanese Chaff Flower is a serious invasive threat to bottomlands and other low, wet habitats.
- Habitat
- Discovered new to Virginia in 2022 by Nelson DeBarros; by a trail at the border of alluvial forest along the Potomac River west of Washington, D.C. Additional sightings from nearby areas of the Potomac Gorge have been posted on iNaturalist, suggesting that the species is almost certainly more widespread along the Potomac. In 2024, a large population was documented on a silty bank of the Rappahannock River in Caroline County, and an iNaturalist record (unvouchered) from Cumberland Mountain in Lee County was posted. This species may be spreading rapidly but mostly "under the radar" of botanists. It can probably be expected in many new localities in the future.
- Native Status
- Introduced
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