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Graminae
Synonyms
S. flagelliferus Peter.
Common names
Okrich (Mauritania).
Description
Tufted perennial with swollen culm bases, usually stoloniferous.
The stolons grow vertically at first, and then bend over and root at the
nodes. Panicle up to 12 cm long with erect branches, densely covered with
short branchlets bearing few pale spikelets (Napper, 1965).
Distribution
Central, western and north-east Africa, north-west India.
Altitude range
500-1 500 m.
Rainfall requirements
It grows in waterlogged soils (bottom lands) in arid and semi-arid
areas.
Drought tolerance
Excellent. It is an important grass in the arid zone of Rajasthan.
Soil requirements
Common on alluvial silts and black clay soils in Kenya, also
grows in volcanic ash (Göhl, 1975) and lacustrine deposits (Boudet
& Duverger, 1961).o
Vigour of growth and growth
rhythm
It flowers in August in the Sahel, matures in February and
remains as standing hay till June (Boudet & Duverger, 1961). It revegetates
each year.
Palatability
It is very palatable.
Natural habitat
Seasonally moist patches in dry grassland, mostly on dark clay
or volcanic (often alkaline) soils, and in low-lying depressions carrying
stagnant water (Gupta, Saxena & Sharma, 1972).
Tolerance to flooding
It is adapted to moist soils.
Seed production and harvesting
It does not normally produce good seed. If seeding types could
be found, it would be a most useful grass for dry areas (Bogdan & Pratt,
1967).
Economics
A desert grass and fodder for camels. It is the dominant component
of the sward developed on the sandy clays of the temporary ponds of M'Zerif,
30 km east of Timbédra, Mauritania, and is eaten well both at the
beginning and end of the dry season (Boudet & Duverger, 1961). Saline
rangeland in Rajasthan, India, dominated by salt-tolerant S. helvolus,
is stocked at two- to four-month intervals by lambs (Ahuja & Vishwanatham,
1976).se
Further reading
Boudet & Duverger, 1961.
Tolerance to salinity
Excellent. It is used as grazing for the Chokla breed of sheep
on saline rangeland in the arid zone of Rajasthan, India (Ahuja & Vishwanatham,
1976). It can tolerate drainage water with salinities up to 10-15 mmhos
conductivity (le Houérou, 1977a, b).
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