''Hyparrhenia rufa'' is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

known by the common names jaraguá,''Hyparrhenia rufa'' (Nees) Stapf.
FAO. jaraguá grass, and giant thatching grass. It is native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and it is widespread in the world as a cultivated

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

and

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

for

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

and a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

and sometimes

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

Description

This is usually a perennial grass, but it sometimes grows as an annual,''Hyparrhenia rufa''.
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER). and it is variable in form. It usually forms dense tufts of stems from a short

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

.Heuzé V., Tran G., Hassoun P., Lebas F., 2015. Jaragua (Hyparrhenia rufa). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/426 Last updated on May 11, 2015, 14:30 The stems can be 30 centimeters to 3.5 meters tall.Barkworth, M. E
''Hyparrhenia rufa''.
Grass Manual. Flora of North America. The leaf sheaths enclose the stem at intervals, making it appear banded. Flowering stems have sparse leaves, but

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

increases leaf production.''Hyparrhenia rufa''.
NatureServe. 2013. The leaf blades are 30 to 60 centimeters long. The

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

is up to 80 centimeters long and is made up of many short, yellowish or red-tinged

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s all subtended by a narrow, reddish

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

a few centimeters long. The racemes are lined with pairs of spikelets, the red-haired fertile spikelets without stalks and the smaller sterile spikelets on stalks. The rough-haired seeds are dispersed in the fur of animals, on the wind, and on vehicles and machinery such as

grader A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, motor grader, or simply a blade, is a form of heavy equipment with a long blade used to create a flat surface during grading. Although the earliest models were towed behind horses, and lat ...

Ecology

In its native range the grass grows in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s and seasonally flooded

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s. It is also tolerant of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and easily naturalizes in disturbed habitat sites. Several species of

leafcutter ant Leafcutter ants, a Genus#Generic name, non-generic name, are any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the two genus, genera ''Atta (genus), Atta'' and ''Acromyrmex''. These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all Endemism, ende ...

s have been observed foraging on jaragua, including '' Atta capiguara'' and '' A. laevigata''. The grass is susceptible to the plant pathogenic

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

s '' Helicotylenchus pseudopaxilli'', ''

Pratylenchus brachyurus ''Pratylenchus brachyurus'' is a plant parasitic nematode. Introduction ''Pratylenchus brachyurus'', like many other plant-parasitic nematodes, are microscopic worms that can be damaging to many agricultural crops. Across the world, many bill ...

'', and '' Longidorus laevicapitatus''. It can also host the

phytoplasma Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-lik ...

bacterium which causes stunting in

Napier grass ''Cenchrus purpureus'', synonym ''Pennisetum purpureum'', also known as Napier grass, elephant grass or Uganda grass, is a species of perennial tropical grass native to the African grasslands. arrell, G., Simons, S. A., & Hillocks, R. J. (2002). ...

(''Pennisetum purpureum''), and its infection has been dubbed ''Hyparrhenia'' grass white leaf disease.Obura, E., et al. (2011)
''Hyparrhenia'' grass white leaf disease, associated with a 16SrXI phytoplasma, newly reported in Kenya.
''New Disease Reports'' 24 17.

Feed

This grass is grown in

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s for

and is cut for

, including

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

and

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage p ...

. It is often used for grazing

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operat ...

, and it is also used to raise

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

, and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. It is not a very nutritious grass, so it is generally supplemented with

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

s for

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

citrus pulp The juice vesicles, also known as citrus kernels, (in aggregate, citrus pulp) of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit's endocarp. All fruits from the Citranae subtribe, subfamily Aurantioideae, and family Rutaceae have juice vesi ...

, or

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of Cereal, cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with cereal germ, germ, it is an integral pa ...

for energy. One experimental supplement for goats is a mix of

groundnut cake The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

bran. Legumes that have been added as supplements include '' Cratylia argentea'',Ibrahim, M., et al. (2001)
Promoting intake of ''Cratylia argentea'' as a dry season supplement for cattle grazing ''Hyparrhenia rufa'' in the subhumid tropics.
''Agroforestry Systems'' 51(2), 167–75. '' Erythrina poeppigiana'', ''

Gliricidia sepium ''Gliricidia sepium'', often simply referred to as its genus name '' Gliricidia'', is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae. Common names include quickstick, ''mata ratón''; ''cacao de nance'', ''cachanance''; ''balo'' ...

'', and ''

Leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing Mimosoideae, mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names inc ...

''. The protein content and digestibility of the grass are lowest in the dry season.

As a weed

Where it has been introduced into cultivation it has frequently taken hold in the local habitat, sometimes becoming an invasive component of the flora. On the

Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...

of South America it has grown easily on the moist grasslands that resemble those of its original range.Simoes, M. and Z. Baruch. (1991)
Responses to simulated herbivory and water stress in two tropical C₄ grasses.
''Oecologia'' 88(2), 173–80. It was introduced to the region to feed animals because native grasses are more fibrous and less nutritious. Its ability to outcompete native grasses such as ''

Trachypogon plumosus ''Trachypogon'' is a small genus of African and Latin American plants in the grass family. Crinkleawn grass is a common name for plants in this genus. ; Species * '' Trachypogon chevalieri'' (Stapf) Jacq.-Fél. - western + central Africa * '' T ...

'' is thought to come from several factors, which may include higher rate of growth,

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

and

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

of seeds, more efficient use of water, and more resources channeled into leaf development. It better tolerates loss of foliage to

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s. It commonly reproduces vegetatively, but it also produces large amounts of highly viable seed. This grass is a

pyrophyte Pyrophytes are plants which have adapted to tolerate fire. Fire acts favourably for some species. "Passive pyrophytes" resist the effects of fire, particularly when it passes over quickly, and hence can out-compete less resistant plants, which are ...

, well adapted to habitat with an annual

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

cycle. During the dry season it becomes very flammable. Wildfires in stands of native grasses are patchy and relatively limited. ''H. rufa'' forms dense monotypic stands of tall stems in the absence of grazing pressure, and these stands ignite easily, burn intensely, and spread fire into the surrounding forests. Not only does the grass make wildfire events more severe, but it increases in response to fire.D'Antonio, C. M. and P. M. Vitousek. (1992)
Biological invasions by exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle, and global change.
''Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics'' 23(1), 63–87. Dry parts may be burned away, but living tissue near the ground is not harmed and resprouts immediately; fire damage to an established stand of the grass is "negligible". Today this species occurs as a weed in most

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions. It can be found in North, Central, and South America, many

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

, Asia, parts of Africa outside its native range, and Australia.

Other uses

This tall grass can be used as

thatching Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

, as

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

, and as

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

for

making paper {{Short pages monitor