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Chrysopogon aciculatus
Poaceae FAMILY

Chrysopogon aciculatus

Chrysopogon aciculatus

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant can annoy and injure humans and animals due to its needle-sharp prickly spikelets that stick to clothing or fur and can penetrate the skin[1, 2]. The seeds work through clothing and can cause irritating sores[3].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

A plant of moderately dry to humid tropical areas, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 15 - 35°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 400 - 2,000mm[3]. Prefers sandy loamy soils and a sunny position[2]. Succeeds in poor, sandy soils[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5[3]. Plants cannot withstand prolonged dry periods[2]. In improved pastures the plant is often considered as a noxious weed, and has been declared such in some countries[1, 2]. The plant may form a firm mat over the ground, and starts to flower within 40 - 55 days from establishment[3]. The plant flowers throughout the year[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Chrysopogon+aciculatus>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  2. [2]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  3. [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. [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam — Safford W.E. · Smithsonian Institute; Washington. · 1905 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet.