Monkey grass, also known as Ophiopogon japonicas, mondo grass or fountain plant, can often be found in gardens as a border, as well as a backyard groundcover. This plant has a clumped look and is easily arranged in a number of different ways. Gardeners love this grass because it is easy to work with and requires only a little bit of maintenance.
This plant can thrive in almost any kind of soil as well as with minimal watering, so it can be considered a very economical plant. It will also live when planted in both broad sunlight or in a shady place. During summers monkey grass bears blue berries. Although the plant is from the family of lilies, it cannot thrive for a long time in water or extremely moist soil.
There are basically two types of this grass in terms of appearance. The normal variety has long pointy leaves that are scattered (hence the nickname fountain plant). The other type is dwarf mondo grass, which as the name implies is the miniature form of the fountain plant. Usually dwarf mondo is used in landscaping gardens as it has a neater look compared to the normal long pointy leaves of the full-sized plant. In certain areas of a garden the shorter version will be highly desirable.
Aside from being an ornamental plant, monkey grass is used by the Chinese as an herbal medicine to cure different kinds of ailments, especially cough. They boil the leaves and drink the water as a tea. For the Chinese, it is a good medicine that sorts out the homeostatic imbalances of the body, especially the organs that result in body ailments.
Today monkey grass is becoming popular with those who love different colors in their garden. One type of this grass, called black mondo, is highly sought after since it is one of only a few plants that have black leaves. Its color is a stark contrast to other plants and aids in bringing out the colors of the other plants around it. Black mondo grass also blooms little pink flowers during summers and the pink and black combination is really eye catching. Best of all, like the common variety, black mondo also requires only minimal maintenance and can thrive in different environments.
