Zoysia matrella(L.) Merr.

Manila Temple-grassManila grassZoysia

WFO wfo-0000908055 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. a Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2021-05-04 / obs. 126191864
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. b Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 62270652
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. c Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 62137213
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. d Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 40712498
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. e Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 32718519
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. f Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 21426683
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Cheng-Tao Lin
fig. g Cheng-Tao Lin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 21501244
Zoysia matrella, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. h Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 28072719

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 32 botanical countries

Regions where Zoysia matrella is native: China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Kazan-retto, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cocos (Keeling) Is., India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, Queensland, Caroline Is., Marianas, Marshall Is. China SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanBangladeshBorneoIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamQueensland KoreaNansei-shotoNicobar Is.South China SeaCaroline Is.MarianasMarshall Is.
Native distribution of Zoysia matrella, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Bangladesh BAN ASIA-TROPICAL
Borneo BOR
Cocos (Keeling) Is. CKI
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
China Southeast CHS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Kazan-retto KZN
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Taiwan TAI
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Marianas MRN
Marshall Is. MRS
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA

Not drawn on the map: Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto, Cocos (Keeling) Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 27 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrostis matrella L.
  • Matrella juncea Pers.
  • Milium maritimum J.Koenig ex Steud.
  • Milium matrella Poir. ex Steud.
  • Osterdamia matrella (L.) Kuntze
  • Osterdamia pungens (Willd.) Baill.
  • Osterdamia tenuifolia Kuntze
  • Osterdamia zoysia Honda
  • Osterdamia zoysia var. tenuifolia (Thiele) Honda
  • Osterdamia zoysia var. typica Honda
  • Panicum bradypus Bory ex T.Durand & Schinz
  • Panicum crinum-ursi Bory ex Steud.
  • Rottboellia uniflora A.Cunn.
  • Zoysia aristata Müll.Hal.
  • Zoysia griffithiana Müll.Hal.
  • Zoysia malaccensis Gand.
  • Zoysia matrella subsp. tenuifolia (Willd. ex Trin.) T.Koyama
  • Zoysia matrella var. tenuifolia (Willd. ex Thiele) Sasaki
  • Zoysia matrella var. tenuifolia (Thiele) Sasaki
  • Zoysia matrella var. typica Sasaki
  • Zoysia pacifica (Goudsw.) M.Hotta & Kuroki
  • Zoysia pungens Willd.
  • Zoysia pungens var. aristata Balansa
  • Zoysia pungens var. tenuifolia (Thiele) T.Durand & Schinz

and 3 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.