Overview
Appearance
Creeping liriope, Liriope spicata is an upright perennial herbaceous plant that forms a dense evergreen grass like ground cover. Many cultivars are available and it has been planted extensively as an ornamental.
Foliage
Simple linear leaves with parallel veins grow from 6-18 in. tall. There is usually no stem Height usually increases with plant age. Foliage may be green or variegated.
Flowers
Small lavender-to-lilac-to-white flowers are held on stalked spikelike racemes that bloom in early summer.
Fruit
Stalks of small green ripening to blue-black berrylike fruit appear from summer through winter. Fruits about 0.5 in. across. Seeds can be carried by wildlife to nearby forests where they can establish new populations.
Ecological Threat
L. spicata spreads aggressively by rhizomes that produce white plant initiates at nodes that remain interconnected for a time, and by seeds. Roots produce scattered small fleshy peanut-shaped corms that can sprout as well. Grows in partial shade to full sun and in a wide range of soil types.