''Tripidium bengalense'', synonym ''Saccharum bengalense'', with the common names munj sweetcane, baruwa sugarcane or baruwa grass, is a

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

of the genus ''

Tripidium ''Tripidium'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Poaceae, native to Spain, Morocco, Korea and New Guinea. The genus name was first published by Hildemar Wolfgang Scholz in 2006 as a replacement for the illegitimate name ''Ripidium''. ...

'' native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. A primary native distribution area is northeastern India, particularly in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

within the Terai-Duar grasslands in the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Description

This is a small species of sugarcane bamboo grass, growing in height. The plant is colored pinkish-green. It is a food source for animals such as the

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

and the

pygmy hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is the rarest species of pig in the world today, and is the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. It is also the smallest species of pig in the world, with its piglets being small enough to fit in one's pock ...

Uses

The species is used as a raw material for thatching roofs. It is used for making baskets. Its fibre is used for making ropes. Itis one of the ecologically successful native colonizer of abandoned mines. It forms pure patches on rocky habitats with skeletal soils. It forms extensive root network that binds the soil/pebbles and forms tall thick clumps with high biomass tufts. It is used by low income locals for making ropes, hand fans, baskets, brooms, mat, hut and shields for crop protection. It is a choice species for stabilizing erosion-prone rugged slopes and their conversion into biologically productive sites of high socio-economic values.Sharma M, Rau N, Mishra V, Sharma RS (2005) Species. 43:22

References

Panicoideae Grasses of India Flora of Afghanistan Flora of Iran Flora of Pakistan Soma (drink) Plants described in 1789 {{Panicoideae-stub