Bermuda Grass
Cynodon dactylon
Family: Poaceae or Gramineae
What it is like
A valuable pasture grass, a lawn grass, or an anti-erosion cover on bunds and embankments. A forage resource for milk cattle in areas where the soil is not suitable for growing crops such as maize or soyabean. Medically Bermudagrass is reported to be alterative, anabolic, antiseptic, aperient, astringent, cyanogenetic, demulcent, depurative, diuretic, emollient, sudorific, and vulnerary.
Cynodon dactylon is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid, very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.3
Where it is found
Sandy shores in southern Britain.
Britain. A cosmopolitan plant, found in most tropical to warm temperate regions.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hawaii, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Socotra, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 3
Bermudagrass is reported to be alterative, anabolic, antiseptic, aperient, astringent, cyanogenetic, demulcent, depurative, diuretic, emollient, sudorific, and vulnerary. A decoction of the root is used as a diuretic in the treatment of dropsy and secondary syphilis. An infusion of the root is used to stop bleeding from piles. The juice of the plant is astringent and is applied externally to fresh cuts and wounds. When mixed with the powder of a clove (Syzygium aromaticum), it is used as an anthelmintic. Internally, it is used in the treatment of chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. It is also useful in the treatment of catarrhal ophthalmia. The juice is also diuretic and is used in the treatment of dropsy and anasarca. The leaf juice has also been used in the treatment of hysteria, epilepsy and insanity. The plant is a folk remedy for anasarca, calculus, cancer, carbuncles, convulsions, cough, cramps, cystitis, diarrhoea, dropsy, dysentery, epilepsy, headache, haemorrhage, hypertension, hysteria, insanity, kidneys, laxative, measles, rubella, snakebite, sores, stones, tumours, uro-genital disorders, warts, and wounds.
Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.
Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.
Other
Rating: 3
Plants are sometimes grown as a cover for warm sunny banks and are sometimes used for lawns. They stay green even in hot and dry weather. Plants give complete ground cover in 4-8 weeks when planted 30-45 cm apart. They succeed on most soil types and requires very little mowing on poor soils. Valuable for soil conservation due to its long runners that root at the nodes. Plants are used to produce biomass. Annual productivity ranges from 4 to 52 tonnes per hectare.
Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.
Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
How it is grown
Prefers a warm sunny position in a well-drained soil. The plant can grow in very diverse conditions of soil and moisture, withstanding drought well and also tending to eliminate other plants. It spreads quite rapidly, rooting at the nodes, becoming difficult to eradicate and can be a serious weed in cultivated land. Bermudagrass is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 9 to 429cm, an annual temperature range of 5.9 to 27.8°C, and a pH in the range of 4.3 to 8.4. Reported from the Hindustani Centre of Diversity, Bermudagrass, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate alkali soil conditions, disease, drought, frost, grazing, herbicide, heavy metal, heavy soil, insects, laterite, nematodes, peat, poor soil, salt, sand, atmospheric pollution, ultraviolet, virus, water-logging and weeds. It is unproductive in poor dry soils and is best adapted to relatively fertile, well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0-7.0, in humid areas. Plants withstand long periods of drought, as they produce little growth in dry weather. This species is hardy to about -10°c. Plants vary greatly in habit according to soil and climate, and occur in several natural strains which differ widely in size, colour (bright, yellow-green to dull blue-green), texture of stars and leaves, size of spikes, and grazing value. Most varieties are poor seeders and are propagated by their creeping stem. Bermudagrass can form dense cover in almost pure stands, practically anywhere. Abundant as a weed along roadsides, in lawns, on sandy wastes, along sand dunes, and readily takes possession of any uncultivated area.
Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring. There are almost 4,000,000 seeds per kilo. Division in late spring. Very simple, plants can be propagated easily from rooted sideshoots, establishing quickly when planted straight into the soil.
Best place to grow: Ground Cover;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Bermuda grass is reported to be photosensitizing in animals. Under certain environmental conditions the plant can produce hydrocyanic acid and so is potentially toxic to livestock. The plant is also said to cause contact dermatitis and, with its high production of pollen, can be a major cause of hayfever.
Listed as one of the most “serious” agricultural and environmental weeds in the world in the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012). Cynodon dactylon is listed as invasive in many countries including Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and many islands in the Pacific Ocean such as Hawaii, Fiji, and French Polynesia.
Its other names
Local names
Bahama grass; couch grass; devil grass; dog's tooth grass; quick grass; star grass. Spanish: grama Bermuda; grama común; grama de Espana; gramilla; pasto bermuda; zacate de gallina. French: chiendent; chiendent dactyle; gros chiendent; herbes-des-Bermudes; pied de poule. Portuguese: capim-coastcross; capim-da-bermuda; capim-de-burro; grama; grama-bermuda; grama-seda; mate-me-embora. Angola: usila. Argentina: chepica brava; grama bermuda; gramón; pasto de perro; pasto forestal; pata de perdiz; pie de gallina; tejedora; uña de gato. Brazil: capim de burro; capim-bermuda; capim-fino; grama rasteteira; grama sao paulo; grama seda. Cambodia: smao anchien. Chile: pasto de galina. Colombia: pasto Argentina; pasto ingles. Cuba: grama; hierba de la Bermuda; hierba fina. Dominican Republic: grama fina de Bermudas Egypt: negil. El Salvador: barenillo; zacate de agujilla. Fiji: balama grass; kabuta. Germany: Echte-Hundsahn; Finger-Hundsahn. Greece: agriada. Hawaii: mahiki; manienie. India: arugampul; doob; duba; hariali. Indonesia: gigirintingan; jukut kakawatan; jukut raket. Iran: chair. Iraq: thayyel. Israel: yableet matsui. Italy: gramigna. Japan: gyogishiba. Java: grintingan; hoe maneek; suket grinting. Lebanon: irk-en-najil; shirch-un unjil. Malaysia: rumput minak. Mexico: agrasia. Morocco: mor-chiendent. Myanmar: mye-sa-myet; mye-za-gyi. Netherlands: hondsgrass. New Zealand: Indian doab. Pakistan: khabbal; talla. Peru: grama dulce. Philippines: babalut; galud-galud; kawad-kawaran; kulatai. Puerto Rico: ala quete queda; pelo de brujas; pepe ortis; yerba Bermuda. Saudi Arabia: nageel. South Africa: gewone kweekgras. Sri Lanka: aruham-pul; buha. Sudan: nagila. Suriname: tigriston. Sweden: hundtandgraes. Taiwan: gou-ya-gen. Thailand: yah-phraek. Turkey: kopek disi ayrigi. Venezuela: pasto pata de gallina. Vietnam: cò chi'; co' ông. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro): zubaca. Zambia: kapinga.