Urochloa trichopus

(Hochst.) Stapf

Hairy gonya-grass

PoaceaeSeeds/Nuts

environmental engineeringfodderlandscape architecture

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal, Grains

The seed of Urochloa trichopus can be gathered for food, such as in Kordofan (Sudan), Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe. While, in Botswana it is ground into a flour, which can then be as a cereal, which can be mixed with water, milk or melon juice and made into cake. It is as good fodder in India.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grow in wooded grassland and bushland. It grows in alluvial sandy soils. It grows from sea level to 1,600 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Africa, Angola, Asia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, SE Asia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Brazil, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

An annual grass. It forms coarse tufts. It grows 60 cm high or higher.

How to Grow

Urochloa trichopus is a plant of semi-arid tropical and subtropical climates, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,600 metres. Usually found in the wild in sandy soils. The plant is considered to be a weed in some areas within its native range.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Urochloa trichopus, bushveld signal grass is a species of grass that is native to tropical and southern parts of Africa, Arabian Peninsula and western Madagascar.

Other Information

It is a famine food with potential for cultivation.

Names & Synonyms

Difiofu, Rabguk

Panicum trichopus Hochst.and others

References (8)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2. Kew.
Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
National Research Council, 1996, Lost crops of Africa. Volume 1 grains, p 271
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 29
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 4th June 2011]
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 90
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew