Poaceae FAMILY

Hyparrhenia rufa

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Giant thatching grass is a variable, tufted perennial grass, occasionally annual, with culms from 30 - 250cm tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is often gathered from the wild for local use in thatching and weaving, whilst it is also widely cultivated through many areas of the tropics as a drought resistant pasture grass[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeAfrica - Mauritania to Eritrea, south through much of Africa to S. Africa.

HabitatTypically of the tall savannah of the deciduous bushland and wooded grassland favouring damp sites, but also a ruderal of roadsides and frequented places[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description 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/ ]. Seasonally flooded grassland and open woodlands[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ].