''Centropodia glauca'', also known as ghagras or ikagras is a species of grass

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. The occurrence of this grass is proof of well-preserved

sandveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

. The grass is very hardy and can thrive in dry veld. It is a perennial pole grass that usually grows between 200–850mm but can grow up to 1m tall. The flowering period is between September and May. Because ghagras have few leaves and the stalks are almost always green, it is resistant to fire. It grows mainly in deep sandy soil, particularly in duneveld; also grows in gravelly soil. It is eaten by game, especially

oryx ''Oryx'' is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight. The exception is the scimitar oryx, which l ...

. It was first described by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck, and given its current name by Thomas Arthur Cope.Cope, 1983 ''In: Kew Bull. 37: 658''

References

Chloridoideae Flora of South Africa Flora of Namibia {{Chloridoideae-stub