Brachiaria distachya
Brachiaria distachya
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Brachiaria distachya is adapted to humid tropical lowlands, with rain all year round or with monsoons and a dry season[1, 2]. It can also succeed in warm temperate climates where winters are mild and frosts are few or none[2]. The plant prefers full sun but can grow under light shady conditions such as occur in old coconut plantations or orchards[1]. It is adapted to a wide variety of soil types, including fertility, humidity and lighting conditions. It is common on sandy soils and sandy alluvium, and also tolerates clay soils[2]. It does not tolerate waterlogging but is well adapted to sandy loam soils[1]. The plant is abundant in wetlands and flooded areas, and resists temporary flooding very well, when it acquires substantial green mass that floats on top of the water[2]. Plants can flower all year round[2].
Propagation
Seed - sow in situ. Germination in the field occurs when soil temperatures reach 25°c in Florida, USA[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brachiaria+distachya>
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]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
- [3]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.