Cyrtococcum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cyrtococcum Stapf

Family: Gramineae

Major species and synonyms

• Cyrtococcum accrescens (Trin.) Stapf, synonym: Panicum accrescens Trin.

• Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (Steud.) Stapf, synonyms: C. pilipes (Nees & Arn. ex Buse) A. Camus, Panicum oxyphyllum Steud., P. pilipes Nees & Arn. ex Buse.

• Cyrtococcum patens (L.) A. Camus, synonyms: Panicum carinatum Presl, P. patens L., P. warburgii Mez.

• Cyrtococcum trigonum (Retz.) A. Camus, synonym: Panicum trigonum Retz.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: kasup (Sundanese), emprit-empritan ijo (Javanese), kamo-kamoro (Moluccas)
• Malaysia: rumput telur ikan, rumput metebong, rumput pahit (Peninsular)
• Philippines: malakauayan, tuad-tuaran, banig-usa (Tagalog)
• Thailand: ya-ngat (Trat), ya-rat (Satun), ya-yung (Chiang Mai)
• Vietnam: chi cầu dĩnh, cò cung.

Distribution

From East Africa to Sri Lanka, India, China, Japan, Indo-China, and the Malesian region towards Australia and the Pacific islands.

Uses

Cyrtococcum species have some value for erosion control in timber and tea plantations. They are readily eaten by cattle.

Observations

• Decumbent or prostrate perennial grasses up to 120 cm tall.
• Leaves up to 2 cm wide.
• Spikelets in large panicles, strongly laterally compressed, with one sterile and one fertile floret, distinctly gibbous at base, awnless; lower and upper glume unequal to subequal.

The various species are found in shaded to heavily shaded sites on not too dry soil. Their nutritional value as forage is low.

Selected sources

• Bor, N.L., 1960. The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan (excluding Bambuseae). Pergamon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. 767 pp.
• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd Edition. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.
• Daryono, H., 1985. Pengaruh umur tegakan jati (Tectona grandis L.f.) terhadap komposisi dan perkambangan tumbuhan bawahnya [Effects of age of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) stands on the composition and development of the undergrowth flora]. Buletin Penelitian Hutan 469: 67-93.
• Henty, E.E., 1969. A manual of the grasses of New Guinea. Botany Bulletin 1, Division of Botany, Department of Forests, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 215 pp.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, the Hague, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 261, 1450 pp.
• Jansen, P., 1953. Notes on Malaysian grasses - I. Reinwardtia 2: 225-350.
• Lazarides, M., 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia (excluding bamboos). Phanerogamarum Monographiae, Volume 12. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein. 225 pp.
• Merrill, E.D., 1923-1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 3 volumes. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines. 2136 pp.
• Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen