Panicum turgidum (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Cereal / pulse
Vegetable
Stimulant
Medicinal
Fuel
Forage / feed
Auxiliary plant
Fibre
Food security
Climate change

Panicum turgidum Forssk.

Protologue: Fl. aegypt.-arab.: 18 (1775).

Family: Poaceae (Gramineae)

Chromosome number: 2n = 18, 36, 54

Vernacular names

• Desert grass, turgid panic grass (En).

Origin and geographic distribution

Panicum turgidum is distributed from Mauritania and Senegal eastwards through the Sahara and Sahel to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, and through northern Africa and western Asia to Pakistan and India.

Uses

Panicum turgidum is one of the ‘kreb’ grasses, a group of grasses occurring in the Sahel region and collected from the wild for human consumption on a regular basis and especially in times of food shortage. Formerly the grains of Panicum turgidum were gathered in large amounts, but nowadays they are rarely harvested. The grains are mainly made into porridge. They may also be pounded and eaten without further preparation (‘tebik’).

In Djibouti the young shoots are eaten; they are said to be sweet. When green, Panicum turgidum is eaten by all livestock; when dry, only by camels and donkeys. The stems are used for thatching and for making mats, baskets and cordage. The Tamachek people in Niger weave the straw as the weft, with thin threads of leather as the warp, into mats which can only be rolled one way. Mats of Panicum turgidum have been used as funeral shrouds. In the Sahara the stems are used as fuel. Plant ash is mixed with tobacco for chewing and in southern Algeria the powder of ground stems is used as a wound-dressing. In Mauritania the grains are credited with antidiabetic properties. Panicum turgidum has occasionally been used for dune fixation in arid areas.

Properties

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. The grains thresh free from the glumes but remain covered by the tough lemma and palea.

Description

• Much-branched, glaucous, perennial grass, forming rounded tussocks up to 1.5(–2) m tall and wide, with a thick rootstock and a fibrous root system up to 2 m deep and laterally spreading for up to 3.5 m; stem (culm) erect or ascending, woody, rooting at the nodes.
• Leaves alternate, simple and entire; blade linear-lanceolate, up to 20(–30) cm × 7 mm, often much shorter than the sheath, flat, folded or inrolled, stiff and pungent.
• Inflorescence a moderately branched, pyramidal panicle 2.5–15(–30) cm × 5–9 cm, lax, primary branches distant, eventually spreading.
• Spikelet ovoid, 3.5–4.5(–5) mm long, acute or acuminate, swollen, glabrous, often gaping at anthesis, 2-flowered; glumes broadly ovate, acute to acuminate, lower glume slightly shorter than the spikelet, 5–9-veined, upper glume 7–9-veined; lower floret male, lemma 9–11-veined, palea well-developed, upper floret bisexual, lemma pale or yellowish, smooth, glossy; stamens 3; ovary superior, stigmas 2.
• Fruit a caryopsis (grain) c. 2 mm long, reddish.

Other botanical information

Panicum comprises about 470 species and is mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with some species extending to temperate regions.

Natural reproduction of Panicum turgidum is mainly vegetatively by stolons. 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 of Panicum turgidum mature at different times over an extended period, shatter easily and are often eaten by birds. Panicum turgidum follows the C₄-cycle photosynthetic pathway.

Ecology

Panicum turgidum is extremely drought tolerant, growing in regions with an annual rainfall of 200–250 mm or sometimes even less. It occurs up to 3200 m altitude, in sandy deserts and semi-deserts, on dunes and seashores, and in sandy pockets in rocky outcrops. Panicum turgidum is an important plant of the Sahara and Arabian deserts, catching sand and forming hummocks, sometimes in nearly pure stands. In Sudan it is dominant on grounds where locusts lay their eggs, and it serves as food for young locusts. Panicum turgidum tolerates saline soils.

Management

Panicum turgidum is not cultivated as a cereal, but collected from the wild. It is sometimes protected from grazing until after seed harvesting, e.g. in southern Algeria and northern Mali. The panicles may be beaten with a stick to obtain the grains. In Niger the panicles are rubbed between the hands. Panicum turgidum can be propagated by seed or by rootstock cuttings. Seeds do not germinate below 15°C and must be sown superficially. Germination is best at 25–35°C. Transplanting of seedlings is possible.

Genetic resources

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. Because of its wide distribution and abundance Panicum turgidum is not threatened by genetic erosion.

Prospects

Panicum turgidum has value as a very drought-resistant grass suitable for sand-binding and for providing food and fodder. It is recommended to sample the existing variation and to use the collected germplasm in a breeding programme aimed at developing superior cultivars. More information is needed on the nutritional characteristics of the grain.

Major references

• Burkill, H.M., 1994. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 2, Families E–I. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 636 pp.

• Harlan, J.R., 1989. Wild grass seed harvesting in the Sahara and sub Sahara of Africa. In: Harris, D.R. & Hillman, G.C. (Editors). Foraging and farming: the evolution of plant exploitation. Unwin Hyman, London, United Kingdom. pp. 79–98.

• Kernick, M.D., 1992. The ecological amplitude and performance of the desert grass Panicum turgidum. In: Chapman, G.P. (Editor). Desertified grasslands: their biology and management. Papers presented at an International Symposium organized by the Linnean Society of London and Wye College, University of London, held at the Linnean Society’s Rooms, London, 27, 28 February and 1 March 1991. Linnean Society Symposium Series No 13. Academic Press, London, United Kingdom. pp. 111–126.

• Phillips, S., 1995. Poaceae (Gramineae). In: Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (Editors). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Volume 7. Poaceae (Gramineae). The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Department of Systematic Botany, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. 420 pp.

• Williams, J.T. & Farias, R.M., 1972. Utilization and taxonomy of the desert grass Panicum turgidum. Economic Botany 26(1): 13–20.

Other references

• Ahmad, R., Ismail, S., Bodla, M.A. & Chaudhry, M.R., 1994. Potentials for cultivation of halophytic crops on saline wastelands and sandy deserts in Pakistan to overcome feed gap for grazing animals. In: Squires, V.R. & Ayoub, A.T. (Editors). Halophytes as a resource for livestock and for rehabilitation of degraded lands. Proceedings of the international workshop on halophytes for reclamation of saline wastelands and as a resource for livestock problems and prospects, Nairobi, Kenya, 22–27 November 1993. Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands. pp. 223–230.

• Bogdan, A.V., 1977. Tropical pasture and fodder plants (grasses and legumes). Longman, London, United Kingdom. 475 pp.

• Clayton, W.D., 1972. Gramineae. In: Hepper, F.N. (Editor). Flora of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 3, part 2. pp. 277–574.

• Cope, T.A., 1995. Poaceae (Gramineae). In: Thulin, M. (Editor). Flora of Somalia. Volume 4. Angiospermae (Hydrocharitaceae-Pandanaceae). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. pp. 148–270.

• Hanelt, P. & Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (Editors), 2001. Mansfeld’s encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops (except ornamentals). 1st English edition. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 3645 pp.

• Haroun, S.A., 2000. Altitudinal effects on cytogenetics and breeding of Panicum turgidum Forssk. Cytologia 65(3): 225–230.

• Kernick, M.D., 1978. Indigenous arid and semi-arid forage plants of North Africa, the Near and Middle East. Technical data. Ecological management of arid and semi-arid rangelands in Africa and the Near and Middle East (EMASAR - Phase 2). Volume 4. FAO, Rome, Italy. 689 pp.

• Kiambi, D., 1999. Assessment of the status of agrobiodiversity in Djibouti: a contribution to the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Draft report. IPGRI, Nairobi, Kenya. 61 pp.

• Naegele, A.F.G., 1977. Plantes fourragères spontanées d’Afrique tropicale seche: données techniques. Aménagement écologique des pâturages arides et semi arides d’Afrique, du Proche et du Moyen Orient (EMASAR phase 2). Volume 3. FAO, Rome, Italy. 510 pp.

• National Research Council, 1996. Lost crops of Africa. Volume 1: grains. National Academy Press, Washington D.C., United States. 383 pp.

Author(s)

• M. Brink, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Brink, M., 2006. Panicum turgidum Forssk. In: Brink, M. & Belay, G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 18 December 2024.

• See the Prota4U database.