''Urochloa trichopus'', bushveld signal grass is a species of grass that is native to tropical and southern parts of Africa, Arabian Peninsula and western Madagascar.

Description

It is clump-forming grass that can grow up to meters tall, with alternate spaced leaves. The leaf sheath is glabrous (hairless) to slightly pubescent (having small hairs). The leaf blade is linear, acuminate (tapering to a long point) and long and wide. The flower consists of 3–20 racemes carried on a central axis long. They are solitary, ovate shaped spikelets on a narrowly winged rachis (shaft). They are 2-flowered with lower floret male and upper

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. They have 3 stamens. The ovary has 2 plumose (having feathers or featherlike growths) stigmas. The seed capsule is a strongly flattened caryopsis (grain). It flowers and fruits between June and August.

Distribution

It is native to the African countries of Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia (and Caprivi Strip), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa (within the Cape Provinces, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Provinces), Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre and Zimbabwe. In Arabia it is found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It has been found in Telangana state, India in 2021. It is found at an altitude of up to above sea level, in semi-arid climates, in grassland and savanna woodland. It is also found in disturbed locations and as an arable weed.

Taxonomy

It was previously known as ''Urochloa mosambicensis'' (with common names of ''sabi grass'' and ''gonya grass''). Urochloa trichopus It was first published and described as ''Urochloa pullulans'' in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. vol.9 on page 589 in 1920, before later being called ''Urochloa trichopus''. It is class as '' Least Concern'' on the Red List of South African Plants.

Uses

The seed of ''Urochloa trichopus'' can be gathered for food, such as in Kordofan (Sudan), Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe. While, in Botswana it is

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into a flour, which can then be as a cereal, which can be mixed with water, milk or melon juice and made into cake. It is as good fodder in India.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q15512853 Panicoideae Plants described in 1920 Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of South Tropical Africa Flora of Southern Africa Flora of Yemen Flora of Saudi Arabia Flora of Madagascar