Sporobolus flexuosus
| Sporobolus flexuosus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Sporobolus flexuosus (common name: mesa dropseed)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they have grown sufficiently. Otherwise, grow them on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year.
Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any well drained soil in a sunny position[1].
Range: South-western N. America - Texas to Utah, Nevada, California and Mexico.
Habitat: Deserts below 1200 metres in California[2].
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked[3]. It can be ground into a flour and used as a gruel or can be mixed with cereal flours when making bread, biscuits etc[4][5][6][7]. The grain falls free from the chaff when it is fully ripe[8]. The seed is very small and fiddly to utilize[K]. A famine food, it is normally only used when other foods are in short supply[3].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Whiting, Alfred. Ethnobotany of the Hopi. North Arizona Society of Science and Art, 1939.