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Imperata cylindrica
| Common name: |
Cogongrass |
Family: |
Gramineae |
| Author: |
(L.)Raeusch. |
Botanical references: |
50, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Saccharum cylindricum, Miscanthus arundinacea, Imperata arundinacea (Cirillo.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea. |
| Habitat: |
Open sandy habitats, usually by a river or the sea shore in Europe[50]. Commonly found on impoverished soils in Australia[193]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| I. arundinaceae[H]
Lagurus cylindricus[B,G,H,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Alalang [E], Alang-alang [E], Bai Mao Gen [E], Bai-mao-gen [H], Cogon Grass [B], Cogongrass [P], Hilalang [E], Ilalang [E], Kambengang [E], Lalang [E], Mah Chow Kin [E], Mao Chen [E], Mao Ken [E], Pai Mao [E], Tigaya [E], Woollygrass [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
cylindrica = cylindrical;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Cambodia; China; India; Japan; Java; Malaysia; Philippines; Sumatra; Vietnam
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Whole USA, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, USA Noxious. |
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1.2m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds, Ground Cover.Edible Uses
Flowers; Leaves; Root; Salt.
Young inflorescence and young shoots - cooked[177, 179].
Root - fibrous but pleasant to chew, containing starch and sugar[144, 177,
179]. Fairly sweet, the taste is sweetest in the wet season in Australia and
worst from plants growing in sand[193].
The ash of the plant is used as a salt substitute[177].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anthelmintic; Antibacterial; Antivinous; Astringent; Cancer; Diuretic; Emollient; Febrifuge; Restorative; Sialagogue; Styptic; Tonic.
The flowers and the roots are antibacterial, diuretic, febrifuge,
sialagogue, styptic and tonic[147, 176, 178].
The flowers are used in the treatment of haemorrhages, wounds etc[218]. They
are decocted and used to treat urinary tract infections, fevers, thirst
etc[147, 218].
The root is astringent, antifebrile, antivinous, diuretic, emollient,
haemostatic, restorative and tonic[218, 240]. It is used in the treatment of
nose bleeds, haematuria, haematemesis, oedema and jaundice[176]. The root has
antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus dysenteriae
etc[176]. A decoction of the root is used as an anthelmintic and also to
treat digestive disorders such as indigestion, diarrhoea and dysentery[272].
The root bark is febrifuge, restorative and tonic[218].
Extracts of the plant have shown viricidal and anticancer activity[218]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Ground cover; Paper; Soil stabilization; Stuffing; Thatching; Weaving.
The leaves are woven to make mats, bags and raincoats[46, 61, 193].
The inflorescences are valued for stuffing pillows and cushions[272].
The stems are used in thatching roofs[46, 61, 178, 272].
A fibre obtained from the leaves is used in making paper[46, 61, 154].
Can be planted on sandy soils to prevent erosion[154, 272]. The plants form
impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together in drifts make an
excellent ground cover[200].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil in sun or partial shade[162, 187].
This species is only hardy in the southern part of Britain, tolerating
temperatures down to about -15°c when dormant[187], though the young growth
in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
The var. I. cylindrica major. (Nees.)C.E.Hubb. is used medicinally in
China[176] and as a wild food in Australia[193].
This species is quite closely related to sugar cane, it has been interbred
experimentally with that species in India[193].
Plants grow away vigorously after a fire, often spreading freely to infest
the burnt areas[144, 193].
Propagation
Seed - surface sow in spring in a greenhouse. The seed germinates
quickly, prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large
enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring as the plant comes into growth. Division is very easy and
can be carried out at almost any time in the year, though winter divisions
are best potted up in the greenhouse and planted out in late spring[K].
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
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [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.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [FAO] Data
(Description, Habitat, Location and Use) from the FAO's Grassland Index.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Imperata arundinaceae (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[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.
[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Bibliography
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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Imperata+cylindrica
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