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Useful Tropical Plants

Heteropogon contortus

(L.) P.Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult.

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Andropogon contortus L.

Heteropogon hirtus Pers.

Common Name: Black Spear Grass

Heteropogon contortus
Plants growing on eroded soil
Photograph by: Forest and Kim Starr
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Heteropogon contortus Heteropogon contortus Heteropogon contortus Heteropogon contortus Heteropogon contortus

General Information

Black spear grass is a clump-forming, perennial grass producing a clump of leaves up to 30cm long and flowering stems 30 - 100cm tall.
The plant has often been grown as a pasture grass, and is also utilized as a material for thatching and weaving[
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.
,
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.
]. It has been grown to provide erosion control, but has escaped from cultivation and become a noxious weed.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Originating in the Tropics of Asia or Africa, it has spread to most other tropical areas.

Habitat

Not known

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.50 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in tropical and subtropical regions, being naturally found in savannah grasslands in areas of moderate rainfall where it is seasonally warm and wet, then cooler and dry[
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 is found mainly in areas with an annual rainfall in the range of 600 - 1,100mm, tolerating lower rainfall when growing on deep sands of drainage lines; and tolerating higher rainfall when growing in well-drained sites[
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.
].
Grows on a wide range of well to moderately free-draining soil types[
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.
]. Established plants are relatively drought-tolerant, but are intolerant of prolonged waterlogging or high salinity[
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.
].
The plant has escaped from cultivation and become a noxious weed in some areas.
It appears not to have been a climax dominant, but it has become so, particularly in Australia, India and Africa, through habitat disturbance such as heavy grazing and burning[
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

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant has been grown in Hawaii and southwestern N. America to provide erosion control and revegetation of degraded areas[
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.
].

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the plant is used for making coarse mats and for thatching[
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 30 - 100cm long and up to 3mm in diameter at the base.

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Heteropogon+contortus>

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