Changes come quickly in the burgeoning world of biofuels. Case in point: new renewable energy darling Miscanthus giganteus. While the switchgrass relative may have to work on name and branding issues a bit, recent research at the University of Illinois indicates  it produces 2.5 times as much ethanol as it’s biofuel cousin, and is over nine times as efficient at converting sunlight to biomass.

All these numbers add up to make Miscanthus a potentially game-changing biofuel. Where current government plans to produce one-fifth of the US demand for gasoline from biofuels would take up nearly a quarter of currently farmed land in the US—putting massive strain on food supply in the process—this rugged grass would require just under a tenth.

As biofuel development ramps up, more and more I find myself liking the potential fuel source of native perennials, like Miscanthus. Because they’ve spent millennia adapting to their locales in a highly competitive environment, they require the least energy and resources to farm, and thus the lowest carbon start-up cost. Plus, unlike genetically engineered algae, they don’t pose the risk of ecosystem contamination.