Poaceae FAMILY

Cymbopogon giganteus

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Cymbopogon giganteus is a loosely tufted, evergreen perennial grass with erect culms which are sometimes stilt-rooted. It grows up to 2.5 metres tall[ 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/ ]. A much used medicinal herb within its native range, where it is commonly harvested from the wild, the plant also yields an essential oil, is used for thatching and has a range of other uses. The plant has sometimes been cultivated for its essential oil[ 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 RangeTropical Africa - Mauritania to Somalia, south to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, and Madagascar.

HabitatDeciduous savannah bushland and wooded grassland, where it is a dominant species over large regions of the savannah, constituting the major part of the herbaceous flora[ 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/ ].