Desmostachya bipinnata (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf
- Family: Gramineae
Synonyms
- Eragrostis cynosuroides (Retz.) P. Beauv.,
- Pogonarthria bipinnata (L.) Chiov.,
- Stapfiola bipinnata (L.) O. Kuntze.
Distribution
From north-eastern Africa through Arabia, Iran and India, to South-East Asia.
Uses
Suitable for erosion control in sandy areas and as a fodder in desert areas in the absence of other grasses. The culms may be used for thatching and rope making, and play a role in Hindu ceremonies. They are considered diuretic and are used against dysentery and menorrhagia. Its fibres have been used for the manufacture of paper, but only as additional material of up to 10% of the total.
Observations
- Tufted perennial grass up to 150 cm tall, with a thick scaly central rhizome and long lateral rhizomes.
- Leaves coarse.
- Spikelets sessile or subsessile along the rachis of short spikes which form a narrow spike-like panicle, many-flowered, strongly laterally compressed; glumes markedly unequal, 1-nerved.
In South-East Asia D. bipinnata occurs on the edges of rice fields, in rock crevices, in savanna or scrub land, up to 200 m altitude.
Selected sources
- Bor, N.L., 1960. The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan (excluding Bambuseae). Pergamon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. 767 pp.
- Lazarides, M., 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia (excluding bamboos). Phanerogamarum Monographiae, Volume 12. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein. 225 pp.
- Wealth of India (various editors), 1948-1976. A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products: raw materials. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. 4441 pp.
Authors
- M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen