Practical
Plants

Phalaris canariensis

Canary Grass

an annual member of the Phalaris genus in the family Gramineae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Gramineae
Life cycle
annual
Height
1 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - cooked. Widely grown as a food for caged birds, the seed is rather small but can also be used as a cereal for making porridge etc[7]. It can be ground into a flour and used for making cakes, puddings etc[7][9][10][12][13][3]. Leaves - cooked[2]. The young plant is used[6].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat
Dry open habitats[11]. A casual of waste places in Britain[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
high
Hardiness
Zone 6+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in situ[4].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An easily grown plant, succeeding in an ordinary garden soil[1]. It is tolerant of most conditions, dry or wet[8]. Cultivated for its seed which is commonly used in wild bird food mixes[1].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-87857-090-x

    ↩

  3. Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.

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  4. Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9

    ↩

  5. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩

  6. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  7. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩1↩2

  8. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

  9. Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods.

    ↩

  10. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  11. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

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  12. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  13. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩

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