In Europe research on perennial grasses started with Miscanthus. The genus Miscanthus contains 17 species and originates from East Asia and a hybrid Miscanthus x giganteus was first introduced into Europe in 1930 from Japan as an ornamental. Miscanthus grows vigorously and can be harvested dry in one harvest. Miscanthus is a C4 metabolism grass which can reach 4 m in height and forms rhizomes. Different Miscanthus species have different rhizomes, which are persistent, with the oldest plantation some 18 years old. Miscanthus is wind pollinated with fan-shaped inflor­escences. Miscanthus can be grown on a wide range of soils but does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Most of the yields for Miscanthus reported in Europe have been determined using Miscanthus x giganteus. Yields are variable with values in the range of 5-44 t/ha/year. It does however suffer from some problems of poor resistance to cold and high costs of propagation as rhizomes have to be used.

Switchgrass

Switchgrass is a native of the North American grasslands, a perennial C4 grass with a high yields on poor soils. Like Miscanthus it was introduced into Europe as an ornamental grass, but based on the data obtained in the USA it has been considered as an energy crop. It is perhaps the best choice as it is drought-tolerant, gives high yields and can be harvested once a year.