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Echinochloa colona

(L.) Link.

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Brachiaria longifolia Gilli

Digitaria cuspidate (Roxb.) Schult.

Echinochloa crus-galli colona (L.) Honda

Echinochloa divaricata Andersson

Echinochloa equitans (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) C.E.Hubb.

Echinochloa subverticillata Pilg.

Echinochloa zonalis (Guss.) Parl.

Milium colonum (L.) Moench.

Oplismenus colonus (L.) Kunth

Oplismenus crus-galli colonus (L.) Coss. & Durieu

Oplismenus cuspidatus (Roxb.) Kunth

Oplismenus daltonii (Parl. ex Webb.) J.A.Schmidt

Oplismenus margaritaceus (Link) Kunth

Oplismenus muticus Phil.

Oplismenus pseudocolonus (Roem. & Schult.) Kunth

Oplismenus repens J.Presl

Orthopogon dichotomus Llanos

Orthopogon subverticillatus Llanos

Panicum brachiariaeforme Steud.

Panicum brizoides L.

Panicum caesium Hook. & Arn.

Panicum colonum L.

Panicum crus-galli colonum (L.) K.Richt.

Panicum crus-galli minus Thwaites

Panicum cumingianum Steud.

Panicum cuspidatum Roxb.

Panicum daltonii Parl. ex Webb

Panicum echinochloa T.Durand & Schinz

Panicum equitans Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Panicum flaccidum J.König ex Hook.f.

Panicum geniculatum Forssk. ex Spreng.

Panicum haematodes C.Presl

Panicum hookeri Parl.

Panicum incertum Bosc ex Steud.

Panicum margaritaceum Link

Panicum musei Steud.

Panicum numidianum C.Presl

Panicum petiveri Kotschy ex Griseb.

Panicum prorepens Steud.

Panicum pseudocolonum Roth

Panicum tetrastichum Forssk.

Panicum zonale Guss.

Setaria brachiariaeformis (Steud.) T.Durand & Schinz

Common Name: Jungle Rice

Echinochloa colona
Stems often send out adventitious roots where they touch they touch the ground.
Photograph by: Harry Rose
Creative Commons License
Echinochloa colona Echinochloa colona Echinochloa colona Echinochloa colona Echinochloa colona Echinochloa colona

General Information

Jungle rice is a clump-forming, annual grass producing stems 10 - 100cm long that can be ascending or decumbent.
Seen more commonly as a famine food, the plant is sometimes cultivated by local people in Africa for its edible seed[
301
Title
Cornucopia II
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications, California.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-9628087-2-5
Description
The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

43
Title
Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition
Publication
 
Author
Fernald. M. L.
Publisher
American Book Co.; New York
Year
1950
ISBN
0442222505
Description
A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
,
50
Title
Flora Europaea
Publication
 
Author
?
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1964
ISBN
-
Description
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
,
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.

Range

Widely distributed in the temperate, sub-tropical and tropical zones

Habitat

Waste places, cultivated fields and ditches in southern N. America where it is naturalized[
43
Title
Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition
Publication
 
Author
Fernald. M. L.
Publisher
American Book Co.; New York
Year
1950
ISBN
0442222505
Description
A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
]. A weed of damp places and irrigated fields in China[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
]. Swampy places[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating * *
HabitAnnual
Height1.00 m
PollinatorsWind
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Jungle rice is an annual plant that can succeed in a wide range of environments from the temperate zone to the tropics. It can be found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 6 - 42°c[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 400 - 2,000mm[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]. Prefers a rich moist soil but should succeed in ordinary garden soil[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
,
85
Title
Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains.
Publication
 
Author
Harrington. H. D.
Publisher
University of New Mexico Press
Year
1967
ISBN
0-8623-0343-9
Description
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
]. Tolerant of moderate levels of salt in the soil[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. It is intolerant of dry periods[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
Jungle rice can be a serious problem in rice crops because the young plants closely resemble young rice plants[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]. It can also be a weed in other crops[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[
105
Title
Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
Publisher
Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
Year
1976
ISBN
-
Description
The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
,
171
Title
Economic Botany.
Publication
 
Author
Hill. A. F.
Publisher
The Maple Press
Year
1952
ISBN
-
Description
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
,
272
Title
Plants and People of Nepal
Publication
 
Author
Manandhar. N. P.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
2002
ISBN
0-88192-527-6
Description
Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
]. Used as a millet[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
]. The seed can be cooked whole or ground into a flour and used as a mush or porridge[
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
]. Used mainly in times of shortage[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Young plants and shoots - raw or cooked[
105
Title
Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
Publisher
Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
Year
1976
ISBN
-
Description
The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
,
144
Title
Wild Food in Australia.
Publication
 
Author
Cribb. A. B. and J. W.
Publisher
Fontana
Year
1976
ISBN
0-00-634436-4
Description
A very good pocket guide.
]. Eaten raw with rice[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-04-25. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Echinochloa+colona>

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Last update on 2022-07-20: Now containing 12727 plants.

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