Practical
Plants

Tripsacum dactyloides

Sesame Grass

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

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Gramineae
Life cycle
perennial
Height
2.5 m
Spread
1 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
monoecious
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

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

Seed - cooked or ground into a flour[4][3]. The popped seed is almost indistinguishable from strawberry popcorn[3]. Seeds contain about 27% protein, this is about 3 times the protein found in corn and twice that of wheat. It is also about twice as high in the amino acid methionine as corn[3].

Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
Eastern N. America - Massachusetts to Michigan and Nebraska, south to Florida, Oklahoma and Texas.
Habitat
Swales, moist fields, woodland edges and shores[6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 7+
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 a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Cultivation

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

A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. A fairly hardy plant, it withstands severe frost in S. England[1] and seems to be perfectly hardy in Cambridge Botanical gardens[K]. This species is currently (1992) under development as a potential perennial grain crop[3]. The seed has a very high protein content and this can be sacrificed to some extent in order to try and improve overall yields (these are quite low at present)[3]. Bi-generic hybrids with Zea spp are known to occur[2].

References

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

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩

  3. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

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

    ↩

  5. Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm

  6. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

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