Melinis repens

(Willd.) Zizka

Natal red-top, Natal grass

PoaceaeLeaves

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Harry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Damon Lisch (via Wikimedia Commons)

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J.M.Garg (via Wikimedia Commons)

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(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are edible.

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant. It suits hot arid places. It can grow in dry sandy soils. It is best in well drained soils. It grows between sea level and 2,600 m above sea level. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,300 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Africa*, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Easter Island, East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, Ghana, Guam, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indochina, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Marquesas, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Switzerland, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Fiji, Micronesia, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, North Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Palau, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A herb. It is an annual grass that forms tufts. It has runners and can keep growing from year to year. It grows 1.5 m tall. The leaf blade is 20 cm long by 0.2-1.4 cm wide.

Notes

It has a C4 pathway.

Names & Synonyms

Chiundo, Culana, Zancole

Tricholaena repens (Willd.) A. Hitchc.Tricholaena rosea NeesRhynchelytrum roseum (Nees) Stapf & C. E. Hubb.Rhynchelytrum repens (Willd.) C. E. HubbardSaccharum repens Willd.

References (3)

Jackes, B. R., 2010, Plants of Magnetic Island. 3rd Edition. James Cook University, Australia. p 34
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 3rd June 2011]
Zizka, G., 1991, Flowering Plants of Easter Island. Palmarum Hortus Francofurtensis

What to Eat

Where to Find It

How to Identify

Notes

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