Echinochloa polystachya, the German grass, is a species of grass (family Poaceae), native to the New World Tropics and Subtropics, from Texas and Florida down to Argentina.[2] It is an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial that can grow in water as deep as 2 m (7 ft).[3] It is a useful fodder for water buffaloes, and to a lesser extent, cattle.[3] In the Amazon floodplain it can reach productivity levels of 99.6 t/ha (39.7 long ton/acre; 44.4 short ton/acre) in dry mass, one of the highest levels ever measured in natural vegetation and belongs to the C4 plants .[4][5] Given that it occupies about 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) of territory during the rainy season, it contributes on the order of 1% of the primary productivity of the planet.[6]
Echinochloa polystachya | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Genus: | Echinochloa |
Species: | E. polystachya
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Binomial name | |
Echinochloa polystachya | |
Synonyms[2] | |
List
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References
edit- ^ Giraldo-Cañas, D.; Allen, R. (2020). "Echinochloa polystachya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T58084895A58084905. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T58084895A58084905.en. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitchc". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ a b Heuzé, V.; Tran, G.; Giger-Reverdin, S.; Lebas, F. (26 April 2017). "German grass (Echinochloa polystachya)". Feedipedia – Animal Feed Resources Information System. Feedipedia, a programme by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Piedade, M. T. F.; Junk, W. J.; Long, S. P. (1997). "Nutrient dynamics of the highly productive C4 macrophyte Echinochloa polystachya on the Amazon floodplain". Functional Ecology. 11 (1): 60–65. Bibcode:1997FuEco..11...60P. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.1997.00066.x.
- ^ Piedade, M. T. F.; Junk, W. J.; Long, S. P. (1991). "The Productivity of the C4 Grass Echinochloa polystachya on the Amazon Floodplain". Ecology. 72 (4): 1456–1463. Bibcode:1991Ecol...72.1456P. doi:10.2307/1941118. JSTOR 1941118.
- ^ Sage, Rowan Frederick; Monson, Russell K. (1999). C4 Plant Biology. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-614440-6.