Although the name used for this species has been Eragrostis tenella since 1897, Nicolson et al. (in Regnum Vegetabile 119: 309 (1988)) have indicated that it should be E. amabilis. Nobody doubts that Poa tenella and Poa amabilis are conspecific, but since the epithets were published simultaneously by Linnaeus in 1753, the first authority to unite them must be followed with respect to choice of epithet. It seems that Munro did this in 1862 and chose amabilis rather than tenella.The late discovery of this fact has necessitated an inconvenient and regrettable change of name for a common pantropical species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Eragrostis amabilis is a delicate, loosely clump-forming annual to perennial grass with erect or ascending, mostly unbranched culms up to 50cm tall[, ].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is sometimes grown as a lawn and ground cover.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Widely spread in subtropical and tropical areas from Africa through the Indian Ocean and Asia to the Philippines, New Guinea and western Pacific.

Habitat

In sand on river banks, lake-shores and coastal dunes; also in Kalahari Sand and as a weed of disturbed ground and cultivation, at elevations up to 1,160 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.35 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is a common weed of cultivated land[].

Edible Uses

Seed[]. Sometimes eaten as a cereal, it is said to be nutritious[]. The seed is small and fiddly to utilize - it is most commonly seen as a famine food, used when nothing better is available[].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

Despite the plant's tendency to be annual, it has been grown as a lawn turf on the campus of University College, Cape Coast, Ghana, where self-sown seedlings maintain the sward[]. It is also grown as a covering on the central divider of a roadway[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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