Lilyturf: A Field Guide

With its swordlike leaves and clumping tendencies, lilyturf masquerades as an ornamental grass in many a garden. This perennial ground cover will perform well in both sun and shade and will send spiky purple or blue flowers into the air in summertime.

To fill bare patches in a garden, designers frequently depend on two species of lilyturf: Liriope muscari (known as monkey grass) and Liriope spicata (spider grass). The main difference is in how they grow; L. muscari is taller and forms clumps while L. spicata is a fast-growing creeper. If you garden in southeastern states in the US, beware that L. spicata may be considered an invasive plant (confine it with a boundary to keep it from overtaking over plants).