|
Graminae
Common names
Giant star grass.
Description
A large, robust, non-rhizomatous grass. C. aethiopicus has
a somewhat similar inflorescence to C. plectostachyus, but the glumes are
about three-fourths the length of the spikelet and the foliage is stiff
and harsh, the stems woody and the stolon internodes lie flat (Harlan,
de Wet & Rawal, 1970). Racemes in two to five whorls (rarely one),
stiff, red or purple.
Distribution
Occurs down the eastern coast of Africa from the Red Sea to
the Transvaal, most densely at the Uganda-Zaire border.
Dry-matter and green-matter
yields
Strickland (1976-77) recorded a range of yields from 1 000-2
000 kg/ha per month in summer and 165-500 kg/ha per month in winter from
three accessions tested at Samford, Queensland (lat. 23°50'S, rainfall
813 mm).
Seed yield
Strickland (1976-77) obtained 7-15 kg/ha from one harvest in
January 1977. There could have been an additional harvest.
Further reading
Strickland, 1976-77.
|
