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Useful Temperate Plants

Brachiaria ramosa

(L.) Stapf

Poaceae


The genera Brachiaria and Urochloa are closely related, and the two are united by some authors. See Veldkamp, Taxon 45 (1986) 319. However, this unification is not accepted by all authors - see Flora of China Vol 22 pp520-523 2006. We are following the treatment in the Flora of China and the Kew 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families', and treating the two genera as distinct[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Brachiaria and Urochloa are distinguished mainly by habit, Urochloa having rather more flattened, cuspidate spikelets enclosing a pronounced mucro from the upper lemma. The different spikelet orientation is also characteristic, though not obvious when the spikelets are paired. In Urochloa the lower glume faces outward, whereas in Brachiaria it lies against the rachis[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
]..

+ Synonyms

Brachiaria chennaveeraiana Basappa & Muniy.

Brachiaria marselinii Gawade & Gavade

Brachiaria multispiculata H.Scholz

Brachiaria regularis nidulans (Mez) Täckh.

Echinochloa ramosa (L.) Roberty

Panicum arvense Kunth

Panicum bispiculatum Chiov.

Panicum brachylachnum Steud.

Panicum breviradiatum Hochst.

Panicum canescens Roth

Panicum cognatissimum Steud.

Panicum grossarium J.Koenig

Panicum nidulans Mez

Panicum ozogonum Steud.

Panicum pallidum Peter

Panicum petiveri puberulum Chiov.

Panicum ramosum L.

Panicum sorghum Steud.

Panicum supervacuum C.B.Clarke

Setaria canescens (Roem. & Schult.) Kunth

Urochloa ramosa (L.) T.Q.Nguyen

Urochloa supervacua (Clarke) Noltie

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Brachiaria ramosa is an annual to short-lived perennial, clump-forming grass with erect to prostrate culms 30 - 60cm tall that root at their lower nodes[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
,
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
,
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
].
The plant is sometimes cultivated in India for its edible seed[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
,
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
]. It is also grown to provide ground cover, stabilize the soil and reclaim polluted soils.
Browntop millet can become weedy, and may interfere with crop harvest. It produces large amounts of seed and can readily regrow from a viable seed bank in the soil, even after several years. It has been found to reduce yield and lower quality of cotton in the southeastern United States[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Known Hazards

The plant can accumulate toxic/lethal levels of nitrate and should not be fed to livestock if the plant has been stressed by droughty or cold conditions[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Botanical References

266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
,
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.

Range

Tropical Africa to Asia - southern China, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia.

Habitat

Dry places with a distinct dry season, along roads, burned teak forest, grassy slopes, Casuarina savannah, abandoned fields, at elevations up to 400 metres[
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitAnnual/Perennial
Height0.40 m
PollinatorsWind
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Brachiaria ramosa is a plant of the wet, seasonally dry and semi-arid tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,500 metres. It is also cultivated in some warm temperate regions, such as southeastern USA[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 26°c, but can tolerate 9 - 32°c[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. It will not survive extended periods in temperature lower than 11°c[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 800mm, but tolerates 440 - 900mm[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
Prefers a position in full sun, tolerating light shade[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
,
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. Grows best in a well-drained, sandy to loamy soil, succeeding in shallow, rocky soils[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. Prefers a pH in the range 7 - 7.5, tolerating 6.5 - 8[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. Another report gives the range as 5 - 7.5[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. Plants are intolerant of drought[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
When grown as a grain crop, it performs best when planted in rocky, shallow soils, fertilized and kept free of weeds[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
Browntop millet is a short day (<12 hour) plant that will begin to set seed in 60 days. It can produce around 1.8 tonnes of seed per hectare[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. Yields under rainfed conditions may be 2 - 4 tonnes per hectare, with higher yields possible under irrigation[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
There are taller varieties with non-shattering seedheads that are better suited for grain production[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
]. It is used as a boiled whole grain, porridge, or unleavened bread[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
]. Eaten as a millet, it is considered to be superior to the grain obtained from Panicum sumatrense[
1140
Title
Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia
Publication
Blumea 41 pp 413-437 1996
Author
Veldkamp J.F.
Publisher
 
Year
1996
ISBN
 
Description
A paper transferring various Brachiaria species to Urochloa, it also gives information on plant uses.
].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used to suppress root-knot nematode populations in tomato and pepper crops in the Southeast USA[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
It is grown as a fast-growing catch crop between commodity crops, and is not known to be allelopathic[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
The plant is used as a fast-growing cover for erosion control. It is used as a nurse crop in the Southeast until a perennial grass cover is established[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
It also has the ability to accumulate significant amounts of lead and zinc in shoot and root tissues, making it an important plant for the remediation of contaminated soils277].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ. The optimal air temperature for germination is between 17 - 26°c[
277
Title
Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
Publisher
United States Department of Agriculture
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
].
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Brachiaria+ramosa>

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