Brachiaria xantholeuca
(Hack. ex Schinz) Stapf
CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agricultural (via Wikimedia Commons)
CIAT, Neil Palmer (via Wikimedia Commons)
Harry Rose from Dungog, Australia (via Wikimedia Commons)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal, Grain
The seeds are eaten as a grain, often as part of kreb, a grain mixture traditionally consumed in Sudan, with the outer layer removed before consumption.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows naturally on clayey and sandy soils.
Africa, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, East Africa, Eswatini, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, West Africa, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A grass. It is soft and slender. It grows each year from seed. It grows 30 cm high. It forms tufts. The leaves are 6 mm wide. The seed heads are 5 cm long. The seeds are 3 mm long by 2 mm wide and in a single line.
Notes
There are about 100 Brachiaria species.
Names & Synonyms
Abugigra, Ambiegi, Djigre, Kereib, Koreb
References (8)
- CRÉAC'H (As Brachiaria publifolia)
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 1 (Also as Brachiaria ukambensis)
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 20
- D. Prain, Fl. trop. Afr. 9:541. 1919
- Roger, D. D., et al, 2012, Nutritional properties of “Bush Meals” from North Cameroon’s Biodiversity. Advances in Applied Science Research, 2012, 3 (3):1482-1493
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
- Young, H. et al, 2016, Risk, Resilience and Pastoralist Mobility. Feinstein International Center. p 58
