Desert Grass. Turgid panic grass, Afezu
Panicum turgidum
Family: Poaceae
What it is like
Panicum turgidum is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Height (m): 1.5
Where it is found
Dry sandy soils. Sandy deserts and semi-deserts, on dunes and seashores, and in sandy pockets in rocky outcrops, at elevations up to 3,200 metres.
Northern Africa - Morocco to Somalia, eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula to Pakistan.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Algeria, Arabia, Asia, Australia, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Chad, Cyprus, Djibouti, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sahara, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, UAE, West Africa, Western Sahara, Yemen
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Seed - eaten as a soup or ground into a flour and used to make a bread or a porridge. The grain may also be stored against a time of scarcity. In times of dearth, people raid ants nests to obtain the grain the ants have stored. Young shoots - a sweet flavour. The burnt, powdered roots produce a sort of soda which some people add to a tobacco quid.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Old culms, dried and powdered, are used as a wound-dressing. The root is carried by female marabouts (religious teachers) in Mauritania for corporal punishment of wayward pupils. The seed is said to be antidiabetic.
Other
Rating: 2
Agroforestry Uses: The plant produces long deep-penetrating and quick growing-roots which on sand-dunes act to bind the sand. It is common on the Sahel steppes, and in parts of Niger (Agedes area) it forms near pure stands on sand-patches. In Sudan it is dominant on locust laying-ground and serves as food for the young insects. Other Uses: The stiff straw is commonly woven into mats, baskets and cordage, and is also used for thatching. The culms are used in desert areas as firewood. Fodder: The palatibility of the leaves of Panicum turgidum is low, but sufficient for camels and donkeys, and, when young, for sheep and goats. Herdsmen in Niger say that milk becomes foul-smelling 2–3 days after cows have grazed Panicum turgidum.
Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Staple Crop: Balanced carb: (0-15 percent protein, 0-15 percent oil, with at least one over 5 percent). The carbohydrates are from either starch or sugar. Annuals include maize, wheat, rice, and potato. Perennials include chestnuts, carob, perennial fruits, nuts, cereals, pseudocereals, woody pods, and acorns.
Wild Staple Crop: Some wild plants have strong historical or contemporary use. Although they are not cultivated crops, they may be wild-managed.
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Staple Crop: Balanced carb: (0-15 percent protein, 0-15 percent oil, with at least one over 5 percent). The carbohydrates are from either starch or sugar. Annuals include maize, wheat, rice, and potato. Perennials include chestnuts, carob, perennial fruits, nuts, cereals, pseudocereals, woody pods, and acorns.
Wild Staple Crop: Some wild plants have strong historical or contemporary use. Although they are not cultivated crops, they may be wild-managed.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
A plant of the arid tropics and subtropics where it is found at elevations up to 3,200 metres. The plant grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 25 - 35°c, but can tolerate 8 - 40°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 200 - 400mm, tolerating 100 - 600mm. Requires a sunny position and a very well-drained soil. Prefers a light to medium soil and is tolerant of poor soils and saline soils. The plant is extremely drought resistant. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7, but tolerates 6 - 8. In dry areas the dormant buds sprout rapidly after the onset of the rainy season and the plants stay green over a very extended period, with flowering occurring towards the end of the rainy season and during the early part of the dry season. The seeds are difficult to harvest in quantity because they mature at different times over an extended period, shatter easily and are often eaten by birds. The plant photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions. A collection of 42 accessions of Panicum turgidum is held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. High grain-yielding types are particularly found in the Middle East.
Propagating it: Seed - it does not germinate below 15°c. Surface sow, or only just cover, in a very well-drained medium but ensure the seed does not dry out. Germination is best at 25 - 35°c. Transplanting of seedlings is possible. Natural reproduction of Panicum turgidum is mainly vegetatively by stolons. Division of self-layered plants.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Desert Grass. Turgid panic grass, Afezu, Afozo, Altumam, Dungara, Markouba, Markuba, Munt, Murut, Murutagas, Panic, Thumam, Timam, Tumam
Synonyms
Panicum frutescens Mez. Panicum neglectum Roem. & Schult. Panicum nubicum Fig. & De Not.