Eragrostis cilianensis
(All.) Vignolo ex Janchen
Stink grass, Smelly lovegrass
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(c) Michal Ducháček, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Summary
Source: WikipediaEragrostis cilianensis is a species of grass known by several common names, including stinkgrass, candy grass, and gray lovegrass.
Description
An annual grass. It forms tufts. It grows to 60 cm high. It has an unpleasant smell. The leaf blades are 8 mm wide. They have small dark glands along the edge. The flower panicle is narrow. It is 5-20 cm long. There is a dark ring of glands on the axis below the lower branches of the flower. The spikelets are narrow and 6-18 mm long. There are 10-30 flowers.
Edible Uses
Seed - eaten as a cereal. It can be made into cakes or eaten as a gruel. The seed is small and fiddly to utilize - it is most commonly seen as a famine food, used when nothing better is available. The grass is edible, and is taken as a normal part of the diet by people in the Lake Chad area. Does this refer to the leaves or the seed?.
Traditional Uses
The seeds are used for making bread and also for beer. They are also used for porridge.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
A root-decoction is taken as a treatment against flu in the event of an epidemic.
Known Hazards
This is a famine food, suggesting limited nutritional value or acceptability outside emergency situations.
Distribution
It grows in subtropical and warm temperate places. It often gets established in poor open pasture. It grows between sea level and 2,000 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 3,000 m above sea level. Tasmanian Herbarium.
Where It Grows
Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Azores, Balkans, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Central Asia, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indochina, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lord Howe Island, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Sahel, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Senegal, Slovakia, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Cultivation
A common weed of cultivation. In some parts of the USA, where it has become naturalised, it is considered a pest, whilst in Sudan it is a weed of irrigated land.
Propagation
Seed - sow in situ, only just covering the seed. Germination is usually very quick and free.
Other Uses
The culm yields straw that is used for thatching, though its quality is inferior. It is made into palliasses in Kordofan, and plaited into circular covers for pots holding milk or millet mash in the process of fermentation. People in N Nigeria make the straw into matting. The plant's vigorous habit makes it useful as a pioneer coloniser, - it is used in Tanzania, along with some other grasses, in reclaiming eroded land.
Other Information
It is a famine food.
Notes
There are about 300 Eragrostis species.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Bettada akabu hullu, Ginchile, Kaodia, Ranpohe, Samba lani, Tsimbony
References (27)
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- Curtis, W.M., & Morris, D.I., 1994, The Student's Flora of Tasmania. Part 4B St David's Park Publishing, Tasmania, p 325
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
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- Dashorst, G.R.M., and Jessop, J.P., 1998, Plants of the Adelaide Plains & Hills. Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and State Herbarium. p 180
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- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 3
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