Saccharum spontaneum
Kans grass | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Genus: | Saccharum |
Species: | S. spontaneum
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Binomial name | |
Saccharum spontaneum |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Saccharum_spontaneum_at_the_bank_of_rever_Ganges_07102013_01.jpg/220px-Saccharum_spontaneum_at_the_bank_of_rever_Ganges_07102013_01.jpg)
Saccharum spontaneum (wild sugarcane,[1] Kans grass) is a grass native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots.[2][3]
In the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands, a lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalaya range in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, kans grass quickly colonises exposed silt plains created each year by the retreating monsoon floods, forming almost pure stands on the lowest portions of the floodplain. Kans grasslands are an important habitat for the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). In Nepal, kans grass is harvested to thatch roofs or fence vegetable gardens.
Elsewhere, its ability to quickly colonize disturbed soil has allowed it to become an invasive species that takes over croplands and pasturelands, as has been documented in the Republic of Panama.[4]
Uses[]
Saccharum spontaneum has a considerable number of regional names in the Indian Subcontinent, for instance kash (কাশ) being common in Bengali, kohuwa (কঁহুৱা) in Assamese and kasatandi (କାଶତଣ୍ଡୀ) in Odia. It is used in Ayurveda.[5][6]
This plant has hybridized with Saccharum officinarum, a domesticated sugarcane. The hybridization may have produced Saccharum barberi and Saccharum sinense.[7]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Saccharum spontaneum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ http://assamforest.in/publication/wildEdible_plantsAssam.pdf[dead link]
- ^ http://assamplants.com/Alphabetical%20%20Order%20(Sc%20Name).htm[dead link]
- ^ Saltonstall, Kristin; Bonnett, Graham D.; Aitken, Karen S. (2020-11-21). "A perfect storm: ploidy and preadaptation facilitate Saccharum spontaneum escape and invasion in the Republic of Panama". Biological Invasions. 23 (4): 1101–1115. doi:10.1007/s10530-020-02421-3. ISSN 1573-1464.
- ^ Pankaj Oudhia (2001-3)
- ^ http://assamplants.com/All%20Species/Saccharum%20spont.htm[dead link]
- ^ Paterson, Andrew H.; Moore, Paul H.; Tom L., Tew (2012). "The Gene Pool of Saccharum Species and Their Improvement". In Paterson, Andrew H. (ed.). Genomics of the Saccharinae. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 43–72. ISBN 9781441959478.
External links[]
Data related to Saccharum spontaneum at Wikispecies
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saccharum spontaneum. |
- Saccharum
- Flora of the Indian subcontinent
- Grasses of India
- Flora of Bangladesh
- Flora of Bhutan
- Flora of Nepal
- Plants described in 1771
- Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
- Panicoideae stubs