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Urochloa trichopus

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(Redirected from Urochloa mosambicensis)

Urochloa trichopus
Urochloa trichopus (formerly Urochloa mosambicensis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Urochloa
Species:
U. trichopus
Binomial name
Urochloa trichopus
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Brachiaria stolonifera Gooss. in Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1934: 195 (1934)
    • Echinochloa notabilis (Hook.f.) D.Rhind in Grasses Burma: 50 (1945)
    • Eriochloa trichopus (Hochst.) Benth. in J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 19: 89 (1881)
    • Eriochloa trichopus var. glabrata Schweinf. in Bull. Herb. Boissier 2(App. 2): 17 (1894)
    • Helopus trichopus (Hochst.) Steud. in Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 100 (1854)
    • Panicum dorsisetum Hack. in T.A.Durand & H.Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 748 (1894), nom. nud.
    • Panicum mosambicense Hack. in Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 140 (1888)
    • Panicum notabile Hook.f. in Fl. Brit. India 7: 32 (1896)
    • Panicum papillosum Fenzl ex Steud. in Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 100 (1854), pro syn.
    • Panicum trichopodon A.Rich. in Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2: 369 (1850), nom. superfl.
    • Panicum trichopus Hochst. in Flora 27: 254 (1844)
    • Panicum trichopus var. chiovendae Lanza & Mattei in Boll. Reale Orto Bot. Palermo 9: 46 (1910)
    • Panicum trichopus var. lasiostachys A.Chev. in Sudania 1: 34, 146, 159 (1911), nom. nud.
    • Urochloa brachyphylla Gilli in Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 69: 40 (1966)
    • Urochloa engleri Pilg. in Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 15: 450 (1941)
    • Urochloa mosambicensis (Hack.) Dandy in J. Bot. 69: 54 (1931)
    • Urochloa pullulans Stapf in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 590 (1920), nom. superfl.
    • Urochloa pullulans var. mosambicensis (Hack.) Stapf in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 592 (1920)
    • Urochloa rhodesiensis Stent in Proc. & Trans. Rhodesia Sci. Assoc. 32: 26 (1933)
    • Urochloa stolonifera (Gooss.) Chippind. in D.B.D.Meredith, Grass. Past. S. Africa: 381 (1955)

Urochloa trichopus, bushveld signal grass is a species of grass that is native to tropical and southern parts of Africa, Arabian Peninsula and western Madagascar.

Description

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It is clump-forming grass that can grow up to 1.7 m (5 ft 6.9 in) meters tall, with alternate spaced leaves. The leaf sheath is glabrous (hairless) to slightly pubescent (having small hairs). The leaf blade is linear, acuminate (tapering to a long point) and 5–30 mm (0.2–1.2 in) long and 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) wide. The flower consists of 3–20 racemes carried on a central axis 4–20 cm (1.6–7.9 in) long. They are solitary, ovate shaped spikelets on a narrowly winged rachis (shaft). They are 2-flowered with lower floret male and upper bisexual. They have 3 stamens. The ovary has 2 plumose (having feathers or featherlike growths) stigmas. The seed capsule is a strongly flattened caryopsis (grain).[2] It flowers and fruits between June and August.[3]

Distribution

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Clump of Urochloa trichopus (formerly Urochloa mosambicensis)

It is native to the African countries of Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia (and Caprivi Strip), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa (within the Cape Provinces, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Provinces), Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre and Zimbabwe. In Arabia it is found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.[1]

It has been found in Telangana state, India in 2021.[3]

It is found at an altitude of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level, in semi-arid climates, in grassland and savanna woodland. It is also found in disturbed locations and as an arable weed.[2]

Taxonomy

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It was previously known as Urochloa mosambicensis (with common names of sabi grass and gonya grass).[4][5] Urochloa trichopus

It was first published and described as Urochloa pullulans in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. vol.9 on page 589 in 1920, before later being called Urochloa trichopus.[1]

It is class as Least Concern on the Red List of South African Plants.[6]

Uses

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The seed of Urochloa trichopus can be gathered for food, such as in Kordofan (Sudan), Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe. While, in Botswana it is ground into a flour, which can then be as a cereal, which can be mixed with water, milk or melon juice and made into cake.[2]

It is as good fodder in India.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Urochloa trichopus (Hochst.) Stapf | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Urochloa trichopus (PROTA)". PROTA - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Siddabathula, Nagaraju; Yadav P., Bharath Simha (July 2021). "Urochloa trichopus Stapf, an addition to the flora of Telangana state, India". International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Engineering and Technology. 8 (7). ISSN 2350-0328.
  4. ^ "Urochloa mosambicensis Sabi grass, Gonya grass, Bushveld signal grass PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org.
  5. ^ "Urochloa mosambicensis | PlantZAfrica". pza.sanbi.org.
  6. ^ Raimondo, D.; von Staden, L.; Foden, W.; Victor, J.E.; Helme, N.A.; Turner, R.C.; Kamundi, D.A.; Manyama, P.A. (2009). "Red List of South African Plants". Strelitzia. 25. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute.
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