The Amur silver grass towers above surrounding perennials on the Chronological Bed.
This member of the grass family (Poaceae) has erect, woody, bamboo-like stems reaching 3m in height, and is clothed in arching leaves with a silver-green midrib. In late summer it produces terminal panicles of silky spikelets, which dry and persist through winter. This is a rhizomatous species requiring full sun, and thriving in moist conditions, but it tolerates drier conditions, and is effective as a screen. There are estimated to be between twenty and thirty species of Miscanthus, which have reed-like stems, linear or lance-shaped foliage and terminal panicles of silky-hairy spikelets. Numerous cultivars exist and are widely cultivated and admired in gardens for their high summer display and textural effect. The genus takes its name from the Greek miskos, meaning stem, and anthos, for flower, while the epithet sacchariflorum comes from saccharum, which refers to the resemblance to sugar cane.