Poaceae FAMILY

Brachiaria brizantha

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant (when used as the main foodstuff), has been known to cause photosensitization in sheep and goats, though in Brazil, where the grass is widely used in pastures, no photosensitization effects on cattle have been observed^{[1, 2]}.

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial

Growth—

Brachiaria brizantha is found wild mainly in the wetter tropics^[1]. It is well adapted to the humid and sub-humid tropics where it can withstand dry seasons of up to 5 months, it can also succeed in cultivation in warm temperate areas^{[1, 3]}. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 35°c, but can tolerate 15 - 38°c^[3]. It is tolerant of some frost, though exact details are not known^[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 750 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 500 - 4,000mm^[3]. Prefers a sunny position, but is tolerant of light to moderate shade. Grows well on a range of soils including sandy and acid soils, though does not tolerate poorly drained soils^[1]. The plant is fairly resistant to drought^[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 7^[3]. Some varieties of this plant, including the cultivar 'Marandu', are resistant to the insect spittlebug^[1]. Most forms of the plant do not tolerate fire well^[2].

Propagation

Seed - Division of culms or root pieces^[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Brachiaria+brizantha>

Pollinators

Wind

References

[1]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
[2]Grassland Species - Profiles — http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/Default.htm ↩︎Terse information on over 650 species of plants that grow in grassland, including trees, shrubs and perennial plants as well as grasses. Gives a brief description of the plant, its range and habitat and some of its uses.
[3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
[4]Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia — Veldkamp J.F. · 1996 ↩︎A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
[5]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/