CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Francis Marion National Forest has a foreign invader and it's killing everything around it.

The invader is called cogongrass and "it's even worse than kudzu," said Jean Everett, a College of Charleston biology instructor who discovered three patches last month deep in the forest. "This is the plant from hell."

With long emerald-colored leaves that feel like razor blades, the plant also tends to be highly flammable providing fuel for forest fires.

The seeds of cogongrass came from Japan in packing materials and was first seen in Alabama in 1911. It is estimated that it covers as much as 1 million acres in the Southeast.

Everett said she had been watching for the plant for years and spotted a patch of the bright green clumps last month in the national forest.

In the past year or two, state wildlife officials have received reports of cogongrass infestations in Aiken, Allendale, Beaufort, Hampton and Pickens counties.

"It's definitely making its way into the state," said Patrick McMillan, director of Clemson University's Museum of Natural Science.

But its encroachment into the national forest is troubling, McMillan said.

"Cogongrass is the worst possible exotic plant that could invade the Francis Marion," McMillan said.

The plant recovers quickly from forest fires so when the U.S. Forest Service does an intentional burn to help restore longleaf pine forests, the cogongrass could find it even easier than usual to take over from the dozens of different plant species that thrive on the forest floor. That could spell trouble for the animals that depend on the other plants.

"Look how thick it is," Everett said pointing to the clumps she discovered. "Look how aggressive it grows. It can compete against anything."

Scientists think the plant emits a poison to kill other plants and its roots grow into the roots of neighboring plants, Everett said. Its leaves contain silica, making them sharp. Animals won't eat the leaves and avoid traveling through areas thick with them.

It's hard to kill with herbicides, Everett said.

Its brilliant green color in the summer turns red in the winter. "Yes, it's pretty," she said, "but it's a thug."

It's good looks might have contributed to its spread.

"Part of the problem has come from people thinking, 'Oh, what a pretty plant!' and grabbing some to propagate," said Bill Stringer, president of the South Carolina Native Plant Society.

The U.S. Forest Service is working to get it out of the Francis Marion National Forest. "It's definitely not a plant we want to have out there," said Mark Danaher, a wildlife biologist with the Forest Service.

Everett said it's not clear how the plant got to the remote area of the forest to begin with. "The problem is that if we found it here, it's probably somewhere else in the forest, too," she said.