Golden Timothy Grass
Setaria sphacelata

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A grass which keeps growing from year to year. It is 0.5-2 m tall. It normally forms compact tufts. Some kinds have long creeping stolons and form tillers. The stems are erect and simple. The leaves can be smooth or hairy. They are narrow and taper to a short tip. The flower is a slender spike-like head 7.5-25 cm long. It is often golden in colour.

It is normally grown as a pasture for animals. There are about 130 Setaria species. They are mainly in the tropics and subtropics.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It can grow in warm temperate and tropical regions. It grows in hot arid places. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall above 500 mm. It grows on a range of soils and they can be poorly waterlogged. It grows in wet grass savannah. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Easter Island, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marquesas, Mediterranean, Middle East, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, North Africa, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, USA, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

It is reported as being boiled then ground into a meal. It is used in kreb a grain mixture eaten in Chad.

It is a famine food.

Edible parts

Seeds, cereal, caution

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed.

Its other names

Local names

Cununo, Dikiyta-kot, Ikununu, Kazungula grass, Likonge, Quisumbe, Rhodesian timothy, South African Pideon grass, Umpuhlo

Synonyms

Panicum sphacelatum Schumach.; Setaria anceps Stapf ex Massey;