Common Name: Giant Thatching Grass

General Information

Giant thatching grass is a variable, tufted perennial grass, occasionally annual, with culms from 30 - 250cm tall[].
The plant is often gathered from the wild for local use in thatching and weaving, whilst it is also widely cultivated through many areas of the tropics as a drought resistant pasture grass[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Mauritania to Eritrea, south through much of Africa to S. Africa.

Habitat

Typically of the tall savannah of the deciduous bushland and wooded grassland favouring damp sites, but also a ruderal of roadsides and frequented places[]. Seasonally flooded grassland and open woodlands[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	2.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the dry to moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 27°c, but can tolerate 11 - 32°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,400mm, but tolerates 500 - 1,600mm[].
Requires a sunny position[]. Succeeds in a range of fertile soils[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[].
A fast growing plant[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

Robust forms are grown in NW Nigeria as grass fencing[].

Other Uses

The haulm, when mature, is commonly used for thatching[, , ]. The culms, combined with the culms of Andropogon pseudapricus, are often puddled with clay for building hut-walls[]. They are also fashioned into zaanaa mats[].

The plant has also shown some potential for converting into paper-pulp[].

Propagation

Seed -

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