Practical
Plants

Sporobolus indicus

Smut Grass

a perennial member of the Sporobolus genus in the family Gramineae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Gramineae
Life cycle
perennial
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

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

Seed - raw or cooked. It can be ground into a flour[6].

Plant part
Seed

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

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

The plant is used to enrich the blood, reduce swellings and correct gonorrhoea[5]. It is considered to be an antifertility drug in some countries[5].

Product or use
Antiinflammatory
Product or use
Blood tonic
Product or use
Contraceptive
Product or use
VD

Material uses

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

A fibre is obtained from the leaves[3].

Product or use
Fibre

Environment

Range
S. Europe.
Habitat
Found in poor dry soils in Australia[2]. Is it native or naturalized there?
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerances
drought
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
tolerant

Propagation

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

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they have grown sufficiently. Otherwise, grow them on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Cultivation

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

Succeeds in any well drained soil in a sunny position[4]. There is some confusion over the naming of this plant, some sources say S. indicus is an annual grass found in Asia and naturalized in S. Europe[7], others say it is a perennial native to S. Europe[1][6]. Botanists have divided this species into a number of subspecies as detailed below:- S. indicus capensis Engl. (Syn S. africanus (Poir.)Robyns.&Tournay. S. capensis (P.Beauv.)Kunth. Native to Africa. S. indicus flaccidus (Roem.&Schult.)Veldkamp. (Syn S. diandrus (Retz.)P.Beauv.) Native to western Asia and Australia. S. indicus indicus. (Syn S. poiretii auct.) Native to North and South America. S. indicus pyramidalis (P.Beauv.)Veldkamp. (Syn S. jacquemontii Kunth., S. pyramidalis P.Beauv.) Native to Africa, the Arabian Peninsular, North and South America.

References

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

    ↩

  2. Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.

    ↩

  3. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney 1981-00-00 ISBN 0-00-216441-8

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

    ↩

  5. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩

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