Elymus repens

Elymus repens, commonly known as couch grass , is a very common perennial species of grass native to most of Europe, Asia, the Arctic, and northwest Africa. It has been brought into other mild northern climates for forage or erosion control, but is often considered a weed. Other names include common couch, twitch, quick grass, quitch grass (also just quitch), dog grass, quackgrass, scutch grass, and witchgrass.

Description

A creeping and branching grass. It forms underground stems or rhizomes. It keeps growing from year to year. It can grow 1 m tall. The rhizomes allow it to spread. It can grow in tufts or spread in large patches. The leaf blades are 6-30 cm long by 3-10 mm wide and flat. The leaves are rough to the touch. They are dull green. The flowers are on a drooping spike 1-1.5 cm long.

Edible Uses

The rhizomes are dried, ground into flour, and mixed with cereal flour for bread and flatbread, or used in soups and steeped for tea or as a coffee substitute. The seeds are ground into flour. The young shoots are eaten raw as a snack or cooked as a vegetable.

Traditional Uses

The rhizome is dried and ground into flour and added to cereal flour to make dough bread or flat bread. It is also used in soups. The dried roots are used for tea and as a coffee substitute. The seeds are edible. They are ground into flour. The shoots are eaten raw as a snack or vegetable.

Medicinal Uses

The dried rhizomes of couch grass were broken up and used as incense in medieval northern Europe where other resin-based types of incense were unavailable. Elymus repens (Agropyron repens) rhizomes have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine against fever, internally as a tea, syrup, or cold maceration in water, or externally applied as a crude drug.

Known Hazards

The roots can suppress the growth of other plants.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,100 m above sea level. Tasmanian Herbarium.

Where It Grows

Africa, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Belarus, Britain, Canada, Central Asia, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Europe, Falklands, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mongolia, New Zealand, Netherlands, North Africa, North America, North Australia, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, South America, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, USA,

Cultivation

Plants are very easily grown from small pieces of rhizome. They can also be grown from seed. Seed does not breed true so that plants vary.

Production

The root is collected in spring, cut in short pieces, dried and stored.

Other Information

It is a famine food. It is sold in local markets.

Notes

The seeds have 18.5 g protein in 100 g fresh weight. It is rich in Vitamins A, B, K and organic acids. The roots can suppress the growth of other plants.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Agripiro invasor, Ayrik, Ayrikotu, English twitch, Grama, Kveke, Plazeča pirnica, Pyrei, Quack grass, Quick-grass, Rope twitch, Tarackbuza, Wheat grass, Witch Grass

References (41)

• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 22 (As Agropyron repens)
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 15 (As Agropyron repens)
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 60 (As Agropyron repens)
• Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 156 (As Agropyron repens)
• Denes, A., et al, 2012, Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian Basin. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81 (4): 381-396

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