Donn G. Shilling , Associate Professor, Agronomy Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Cogongrass has features that minimize herbivory. The rough edges of mature leaves cause mammals to avoid chewing the foliage. In fact, the leaf edges may cause abrasions on persons who walk barelegged through a patch of cogongrass. Silica bodies throughout the leaves add to the unpalatability for grazing animals.
Rhizomes allow for spread and the production of additional plants with the same genetic makeup.
Dense stands of cogongrass crowd out other species in the area. This suppressive feature may be another reason there are monotypic stands of cogongrass. With all these features for endurance, it is no wonder that cogongrass has proved to be a pest. In addition, cogongrass has few, if any, competitors or other control species to slow its growth and spread outside its native area. There are many plants, insects, nematodes, and pathogens which hold cogongrass in check in the Old World tropics, where it is native.