Beckmannia eruciformis

(L.) Host.

Sloughgrass

PoaceaeSeeds/Nuts

food

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(c) Almantas Kulbis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Almantas Kulbis

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(c) Tatyana Zarubo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tatyana Zarubo

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal

Edible Parts: Seed Edible Uses: Seed - cooked. A mild flavour, it can be ground into a flour and used as a cereal. The seed is very small but is easily harvested. It does then have to be separated from its husk, which is a very fiddly operation. Some N. American Indian tribes burn the husks of grass seeds.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Asia, Canada, Europe, Japan, North America, USA,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Switzerland, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malta, Maldives, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, El Salvador, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

An annual grass. It is tall. The leaves are flat. The flowering shoots are at the top of the plant.

How to Grow

Propagation: Seed - surface sow in spring in pots in a cold frame. Do not let the soil dry out. Very quick germination. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. If there is sufficient seed, it can be sown in situ in the spring. Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

Bedding The plant is used for making bedding and pillows. Special Uses

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Beckmannia eruciformis, the European slough-grass or slough grass, is an annual or short lived perennial in the grass family, Poaceae, found in shallow marshes or sloughs, and used for animal fodder and forage.

Notes

There are only two Beckmannia species.

References (6)

Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 55
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 91
Icon. descr. gram. austriac. 3:5, t. 6. 1805
Menninger, E.A., 1977, Edible Nuts of the World. Horticultural Books. Florida p 146
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/