Common Name:

General Information

Cymbopogon densiflorus is an evergreen, clump-forming, perennial grass with robust culms 100 - 200cm tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and incense. It is sometimes cultivated for its essential oil, and is also grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo and Tanzania, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique

Habitat

Open spaces along roadsides, wooded grassland[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	1.50 m
Pollinators	Wind
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, 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[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The plant (part not specified) is used as a styptic and a tonic[, ].

The crushed leaves make a treatment for rheumatism[].

The flower-head is smoked in a pipe as a cure for bronchial affections[].

The plant-sap is taken as a cure for bronchial affections, asthma and to calm fits[].i

The plant is macerated with Ocimum basilicum (Labiatae) and the compound is taken as a treatment for epilepsy. It is conjectured that any action is due to the camphoraceous volatile oil[].

Other Uses

An essentail oil is obtained from the plant[].

The plant is aromatic and is burnt as an incense[].
The plant has fetish attributes. In Gabon its inflorescence is burnt in fumigations required in certain rituals, e.g., in making incantations to chase away malign spirits, to cleanse those who have lost their spouse, to rejuvenate and restore the efficiency of a fetish, an amulet or a talisman when the owner has violated a taboo (8). In Tanganyika witch-doctors smoke the flower panicle, either alone or with tobacco, to induce dreams to foretell the future[].

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[].
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[].

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