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Useful Tropical Plants

Cymbopogon caesius

(Nees ex Hook. & Arn.) Stapf

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Andropogon bicornis Forssk.

Andropogon caesius Nees

Andropogon connatus Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Andropogon excavatus Hochst.

Andropogon foliatus Steud.

Andropogon nardoides minor Nees

Andropogon schoenanthus caesius (Hook. & Arn.) Hack.

Andropogon schoenanthus gracillimus Hook.f.

Cymbopogon connatus (A.Rich.) Chiov.

Cymbopogon excavatus (Hochst.) Stapf ex Burtt Davy

Cymbopogon plicatus Stapf

Cymbopogon suaveolens Pilg.

Gymnanthelia connata (A.Rich.) Schweinf. & Asch.

Common Name: Kachi Grass

Cymbopogon caesius

General Information

Cymbopogon caesius is a very aromatic, evergreen, clump-forming perennial grass growing to 2 metres tall, occasionally to 3 metres[
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.
].
The plant is gathered from the wild and used to obtain an essential oil[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
], and is also occasionally cultivated for this purpose[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

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

Southern and eastern Africa - S. Africa, north to Eritrea, Arabia to India and southern China.

Habitat

Growing in grassland, savannah, open forest, dambos, fallow fields, waste ground and old maize fields, and along roadsides at elevations of 50 - 1,550 metres[
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.
].

Properties

Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Perennial
Height0.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details


Species in this genus generally grow best in a sunny position in a moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Many of them are found in dry soils in the wild[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

An essential oil, called 'oil of kachi grass', is obtained from the plant[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

The culms are used to make ornamental bracelets[
775
Title
Gemsbok Bean and Kalahari Truffle
Publication
 
Author
Leffers A.
Publisher
Gamsberg MacMillan; Namibia.
Year
2003
ISBN
99916-0-491-X
Description
Details of the traditional uses of over 200 species of plants in northeastern Namibia. Written for the non-expert, there is usually at least one photograph with each plant entry.
].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow or only just cover, sowing the seeds in a nursery seedbed. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots at the 3 - 4 leaf stage and grow on until large enough to plant out. Seed can also be sown in situ, but this often results in heavy weed infestation[
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.
].
Division of established clumps. This is best done annually or they can become too crowded and suffer. The offshoots of this species often fail to establish[
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.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cymbopogon+caesius>

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