Antelope grass
Echinochloa pyramidalis

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A tall swamp grass. It grows up to 5 m high. It is like a reed and keeps growing from year to year. It has rhizomes or underground stems. The stems are solid.

The plant is useful for animal grazing especially in the dry season. There are about 35 Echinochloa species. They grow in tropical to warm temperate regions.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is a major part of the floating plants along the Nile and Niger Rivers. It is common in swamps throughout tropical Africa. It can grow in temperate places. It grows from sea level to 2,400 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. It grows in savannah.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Australia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

It is used in kreb a grain mixture eaten in Chad. It is burned for salt.

It is a famine food.

Edible parts

Seeds, grains, cereal, culm - salt

How it is grown

It can be grown by cuttings or tillers.

Its other names

Local names

Ahilava, Al foula, Al fula, Limpopo grass, Nhamiquinte

Synonyms

Echinochloa guadeloupensis (Hack.) Wiegand; Echinochloa holubii (Stapf) Stapf; Echinochloa quadrifaria (A. Rich.) Chiov.; Panicum pyramidale Lam.; and others