Sporobolus indicus
| Sporobolus indicus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Sporobolus indicus (common name: smut grass)
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: Succeeds in any well drained soil in a sunny position[1].
There is some confusion over the naming of this plant, some sources say S. indicus is an annual grass found in Asia and naturalized in S. Europe[2], others say it is a perennial native to S. Europe[3][4]. Botanists have divided this species into a number of subspecies as detailed below:-
S. indicus capensis Engl. (Syn S. africanus (Poir.)Robyns.&Tournay. S. capensis (P.Beauv.)Kunth. Native to Africa.
S. indicus flaccidus (Roem.&Schult.)Veldkamp. (Syn S. diandrus (Retz.)P.Beauv.) Native to western Asia and Australia.
S. indicus indicus. (Syn S. poiretii auct.) Native to North and South America.
S. indicus pyramidalis (P.Beauv.)Veldkamp. (Syn S. jacquemontii Kunth., S. pyramidalis P.Beauv.) Native to Africa, the Arabian Peninsular, North and South America.
Range: S. Europe.
Habitat: Found in poor dry soils in Australia[5]. Is it native or naturalized there?
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked. It can be ground into a flour[4].
Medicinal: The plant is used to enrich the blood, reduce swellings and correct gonorrhoea[6]. It is considered to be an antifertility drug in some countries[6].
Usage: A fibre is obtained from the leaves[7].
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.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Ewart, Alfred. Recording Census of the Victorian Flora. 1923.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins, 1981.