Eragrostis eriopoda
Benth.
Naked woolybutt grass
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(c) Darren Fielder, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Summary
Source: WikipediaEragrostis eriopoda, the woollybutt grass, is a species of love grass in the family Poaceae, native to most of Australia. It is a major grass species of the mulga savanna. In the same genus as teff, its seeds are edible, but very small.
Description
A grass which keeps growing from year to year. It forms tussocks. These clumps spread out the the centre dies. It grows 60 cm high. It has coarse hairy roots. It has a dense woolly base. The stems are erect and wiry. The underground rhizomes have many branches. The leaves are 3-8 cm long by 0.2 cm wide. The leaves are narrow and rolled in at the edges. The tip is rigid. The seed head is 20 cm long by 7 cm wide. It tapers to a point. There are several spikelets. These are about 0.6-2.2 cm long. They are long and not woolly.
Edible Uses
The seeds are ground into flour and mixed with water, then baked to produce damper bread.
Traditional Uses
The seeds are ground into flour and mixed with water then baked to produce damper.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It grows on spinifex sandplains. It can also be on river flood plains. It grows in arid and semiarid places. Clumps re-grow after fires. It grows in the tropics and subtropics. It can grow in arid places.
Where It Grows
Australia*,
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seed or by division of the clump.
Production
The seeds ripen in autumn or winter after summer rains. The seed heads are rubbed off and the chalf separated from the seeds by pounding and winnowing.
Notes
There are about 300 Eragrostis species.
Nutrition
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 8.5 | 1331 | 318 | 16.2 | — | — | 31 | 5 |
| Seed paste | 58.9 | 536 | 128 | 7 | — | — | 45 | 2.2 |
Also Known As
Wangunu
References (22)
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- Cancilla, D., 2018, Ethnobotanical and Ethnozoological Values Desktop Assessment - Eliwana Project. p 11
- Cherikoff V. & Isaacs, J., The Bush Food Handbook. How to gather, grow, process and cook Australian Wild Foods. Ti Tree Press, Australia p 37, 189
- Chivers, I., et al, 2015, Native grasses make new products. A review of current and past uses and assessment of potential. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. Aust. Gvt. p 15
- Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1984, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 3. Lothian. p 422
Show all 22 references Hide references
- Fl. austral. 7:648. 1878
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- Hall, N. et al, 1972, The Use of Trees and Shrubs in the Dry Country of Australia, AGPS, Canberra. p 499, 510
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- Hunter, J.T., 2017, Is there a relationship between contemporary high Aboriginal plant resource locations and mapped vegetation communities? Cunninghamia 17:27-34. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. ISSN 2200 - 405X
- Isaacs, J., 1987, Bush Food, Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine. Weldons. p 108
- Kenneally, K.E., Edinger, D. C., and Willing T., 1996, Broome and Beyond, Plants and People of the Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management. p 220
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- Latz, P.K., 1996, Bushfires and Bushtucker: Aboriginal plant use in Central Australia. IAD Press Alice Springs p 168
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- Low, T., 1992, Bush Tucker. Australia’s Wild Food Harvest. Angus & Robertson. p 10, 85
- Morley, B.D., & Toelken, H.R., (Eds), 1983, Flowering Plants in Australia. Rigby. p 391
- Paczkowska, G. & Chapman, A.R., 2000, The Western Australian Flora. A Descriptive Catalogue. Western Australian Herbarium. p 105
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