Eleusine indica
| Eleusine indica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Eleusine indica (common name: wire grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in late spring after the last expected frosts[1][2].
The seed can also be sown in mid to late spring in situ[2], though if the summer is cool it might not ripen its seed[K].
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[2].
This species is the probable ancestor of E. coracana, a species that is cultivated for its seed.
A polymorphic species.
Range: Tropics. Naturalized in S. Europe[3].
Habitat: Roadsides and waste places[3][4].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[5][4][6]. The seed is rather small[7], it is sometimes used as a famine food[8]. Used as a millet, it can be cooked whole or ground into a flour and used in making cakes, gruels etc[9].
Young seedlings - raw or cooked and used as a side dish with rice[10][11][12][8][9].
Root - raw[8].
Medicinal: The whole plant, but especially the root, is sudorific and febrifuge[13]. It is also used in the treatment of liver complaints[13].
Usage: The stems are used to make mats, baskets etc[10][11][4].
The plant is suitable for paper manufacture[4].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Links
References
- ↑ Grounds, Roger. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm, 1989.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, 1975.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.