There has been considerable confusion in the past between this species and Tripsacum laxum Nash. It is possible that some of the information detailed below should apply to both species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Tripsacum andersonii is a robust, perennial, evergreen grass with a short rhizome and culms 3 - 5 metres tall and 20 - 30mm in diameter. The plant is shallow rooted, and can form large mats of growth up to 5 metres wide[].
The plant is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as a cut fodder, as a hedge, soil conditioner and for erosion control.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

C. America - Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico.

Habitat

Not known

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Cultivated

Cultivation Details

A plant of the 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 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 12 - 35°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 3,000mm[].
Grows best in full sun, but plants can maintain good growth with 50% shade[, ]. Requires a fertile, well-drained soil, but can be grown in a range of conditions including very acid coastal sands, peats and acid sulphate soils[, ]. Prefers a pH in the range 4 - 4.5, tolerating 2.7 - 5[]. The plant is adapted to inundated and marshy conditions; it has a remarkable tolerance to shallow water tables, but poor tolerance to soil moisture stress[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used to form a stout hedgerow (living fence) or for contour strips with or without companion legume on hill land, especially that growing cassava (Manihot esculenta)[].
Planted as a break to reduce insect pests in run-down tea plantation land in Sri Lanka, and to combat bacterial wilt of potatoes in Burundi[].
Used for soil erosion control, mulching and as a soil conditioner in drained swamps in Malaysia[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - fertile seeds are seldom, if ever, produced outside the plant's native range[, ].
Division of the rhizomes.
The plant can be established by planting stem cuttings or rooted culms at the beginning of the rainy season, either in holes or in a plough furrow, 50 - 65cm apart in rows 1 metre wide[].

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