Liriope (genus)
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 Young variegated Liriope spicata
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Liriope is a genus of low, grass-like, flowering plants from East Asia. Some species are often used in landscaping in temperate latitudes. They may be called lilyturf in North America although neither a true grass (family Poaceae) nor lily (genus Lilium). Once classified with lilies in the family Liliaceae, the genus is included in Ruscaceae in the APG II system.
Liriope are usually used in the garden for their evergreen foliage. Some species, e.g., L. spicata, grow aggressively in the right conditions, spreading by runners; hence their nickname, "creeping lilyturf".
Liriope spicata is used as a substitute for Ophiopogon japonicus in Chinese medicine as an herb for yin deficiency..[1]
In the southeastern United States Liriope is referred to by the nickname monkey grass.
[edit] References
- ^ Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica Third Edition by Daniel Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger and Andrew Gamble. Eastland Press, 2004
