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Beckmannia eruciformis

Common name:	Sloughgrass	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	(L.)Host.	Botanical references:	50, 74
Synonyms:	Phalaris eruciformis (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Southern and Eastern Europe to central Asia.
Habitat:	Wet meadows, swamps, marshes and shallow water[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. eruciformis auct. non[P] B. eruciformis ssp. baicalensis[B,P] B. eruciformis var. uniflora[B,P] B. syzigachne[B,C,CAL,G,L,P] B. syzigachne ssp. baicalensis[B,P] B. syzigachne var. uniflora[B,P] Panicum syzigachne[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Slough Grass [B], American Sloughgrass [P], Slough Grass [L],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.5m. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Seed.

Seed - cooked[2, 46, 61, 105, 161]. A mild flavour, it can be ground into a flour and used as a cereal. The seed is very small but is easily harvested[K]. It does then have to be separated from its husk, which is a very fiddly operation. Some N. American Indian tribes burn the husks of grass seeds[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Bedding.

The plant is used for making bedding and pillows[257].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist to wet soil, succeeding in shallow water[K]. Tolerates saline soils[74]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.8 to 7.6.
We have no specific information on the hardiness of this species, but we have grown it successfully outdoors in &ndndndnd and, judging by its range, it should be cold-hardy in most if not all of Britain[K].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in spring in pots in a cold frame. Do not let the soil dry out. Very quick germination[K]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
If there is sufficient seed, it can be sown in situ in the spring.
Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Beckmannia syzigachne (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.