Chloris gayana

Chloris gayana
Chloris gayana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Chloridoideae
Genus: Chloris
Species: C. gayana
Binomial name
Chloris gayana
Kunth

Chloris gayana is a species of grass known by the common name Rhodes grass. It is native to Africa but it can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical world as a naturalized species.

It can grow in many types of habitat. It is also cultivated in some areas as a palatable graze for animals and a groundcover to reduce erosion and quickly revegetate denuded soil.[1] It is tolerant of moderately saline and alkaline soils and irrigation.[2]

Description

This is a perennial grass which can reach one half to nearly three meters in height and spreads via stolons. It forms tufts and can spread into wide monotypic stands. The inflorescence is a single or double whorl of fingerlike racemes up to 15 centimeters long. Each spikelet in the raceme is a few millimeters long and contains one or two fertile florets and up to four sterile florets.

References

  1. ^ Tropical Forages
  2. ^ Purdue Horticulture

External links


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