PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Poaceae FAMILY

Macrochloa tenacissima

Macrochloa tenacissima

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
GrowthFast

Macrochloa tenacissima is native to arid and semi-arid regions of the western Mediterranean, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It is somewhat cold-hardy, and is known to tolerate temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[1]. It can be cultivated in moister regions so long as the soil is well-drained and the winters are not too harsh. Requiring a sunny position, the plant is often found in the wild on very poor or skeletal soils, usually of an alkaline nature[2]. It is easily grown in an ordinary well-drained garden soil in full sun, succeeding in dry soils[3, 1]. Plants are fairly wind resistant[PFAF]. The leaves of wild plants are often harvested on a large scale and exported for their use in paper making[4]. Old leaves accumulate at the base of the plant, which can live for more than 60 years[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks, but make sure that the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. The seed can also be sown outdoors in mid spring. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Macrochloa+tenacissima>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Inventario Español de los Conocimientos Tradicionales Relativos a la Bioversidade. Primera Fase — Santayana M.P. de; Morales R.; Aceituno L. & Molina M. (Edi · Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente; Madrid · 2014 ↩︎Written in Spanish, detailed information on the traditional and modern used of over 40 species of plant. It is made freely available on the Internet as a PDF.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  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]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Plants for Man. — Schery. R. W. ↩︎Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
  7. [7]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Flowering Plants of the World. — Haywood. V. H. · Oxford University Press · ISBN 0-19-217674-9 ↩︎Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.
  9. [9]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  10. [10]Plant Fibres for Papermaking. — Bell. L. A. · Liliaceae Press · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
  11. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎