Echinochloa pyramidalis

Echinochloa pyramidalis is a species of large grass, occurring naturally in flooded regions and beside lakes in tropical Africa and America, and introduced to various other countries. It is commonly known as antelope grass.

Description

A tall swamp grass. It grows up to 5 m high. It is like a reed and keeps growing from year to year. It has rhizomes or underground stems. The stems are solid.

Edible Uses

Echinochloa pyramidalis is palatable to livestock and is cultivated for fodder, being able to withstand heavy grazing; it grows during the wet season, dying back to the base during the dry season, but will resprout vigorously after wildfires, even in the middle of the dry season. It can be made into hay, but for this purpose the glabrous varieties are chosen. The grain is sometimes used for human consumption. This grass can be used to prevent erosion on river banks prone to flooding and on earth dams. It can be used in a similar way to reeds for sewage control. Where it has become invasive, as for example in Mexico and Guyana, it reduces biodiversity and grows so vigorously that it displaces native plants.

Traditional Uses

It is used in kreb a grain mixture eaten in Chad. It is burned for salt.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It is a major part of the floating plants along the Nile and Niger Rivers. It is common in swamps throughout tropical Africa. It can grow in temperate places. It grows from sea level to 2,400 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. It grows in savannah.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Australia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Rwanda, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

It can be grown by cuttings or tillers.

Other Information

It is a famine food.

Notes

The plant is useful for animal grazing especially in the dry season. There are about 35 Echinochloa species. They grow in tropical to warm temperate regions.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ahilava, Al foula, Al fula, Limpopo grass, Nhamiquinte

References (22)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 25
• Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2. Kew.
• Cobley, L.S. (rev. Steele, W.M.) 2nd Ed., 1976, An Introduction to the Botany of Tropical Crops. Longmans. p 56
• Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 18:345. 1917
• CRÉAC'H,

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