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Useful Tropical Plants

Urochloa trichopus

(Hochst.) Stapf

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Eriochloa trichopus (Hochst.) Benth.

Helopus trichopus (Hochst.) Steud.

Panicum dorsisetum Hack. ex T.Durand & Schinz

Panicum papillosum Fenzl ex Steud.

Panicum trichopodon A.Rich.

Panicum trichopus Hochst.

Urochloa brachyphylla Gilli

Urochloa engleri Pilg.

Common Name:

Urochloa trichopus
Drawing of the flowering and fruiting stem
Photograph by: Wood, J.M., Evans, M.S., Natal plants, vol. 2: t. 150 (1899-1904)
Creative Commons License

General Information

Urochloa trichopus is an annual, clump-forming grass that can grow up to 1.7 metres tall[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The plant is gathered from the wild for local use as a food. Considered a famine food in most areas, though it has been considered as a possible plant for cultivation[
332
Title
The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
Burkil. H. M.
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
Year
1985 - 2004
ISBN
 
Description
Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

308
Title
Flora Zambesiaca
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.

Range

Africa - drier areas from Mauritania and Senegal to Somalia, south to S. Africa; Arabia - Yemen, Saudi Arabia.

Habitat

Semi-arid climates, in grassland and savannah woodland; also in disturbed locations and as an arable weed; at elevations up to 1,500 metres[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating *  *
HabitAnnual
Height1.00 m
PollinatorsWind
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Urochloa trichopus is a plant of semi-arid tropical and subtropical climates, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,600 metres.
Usually found in the wild in sandy soils[
332
Title
The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
Burkil. H. M.
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
Year
1985 - 2004
ISBN
 
Description
Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
The plant is considered to be a weed in some areas within its native range[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. It can be used as a cereal, ground into a flour, which may be cooked with water, milk or melon juice or made into cake[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The seed is also used for making beer[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Urochloa%20trichopus>

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