Saccharum spontaneum L. (1771)

Medicinal

The species flowers and fruits at the end of the rainy season in India and is therefore capable of colonizing areas such as soil and sand left bare by retreating floods (Bor 1960). S. spontaneum pioneers the silt layer of flood plains at Royal Karnalibardia Wildlife Reserve in Nepal. Colonizing success of the species is likely due to its ability to form extensive root systems; flowering is synchronous with the end of the rainy season. From observations made at the reserve it was projected that S. spontaneum will become dominant where poorly drained, poorly developed soils are affected by overgrazing and fire or just fire (Dinerstein 1979). At Kanha Wildlife National Park in central India, S. spontaneum is one of the dominant species in both disturbed and undisturbed grasslands. There, it is adapted to annual burning regimes (Pandey etal. 1988). Prefers rainfall usually in excess of 1500 mm; maintains high drought tolerance; tolerates some flooding (Skerman and Riveros 1990). Sugarcane smut infection (Ustilago scitaminea Sydow), occurring in South America, infects S. spontaneum in vitro (James 1976).

Perennials; rhizomes and culms erect, farinose below the nodes, hairy below the inflorescence. Ligule obtuse, about 2 mm long, shortly ciliate. Inflorescence a large panicle of about 20 cm long, branches erect, rachis and pedicels slender. Spikelets paired, monomorphic, lanceolate, 3-5 mm long, usually dark-brown, whitish and pointed above, the callus with silky hairs; glumes persistent, pointed, coriaceous at the base; lower glume ciliate on margins, 3-5 mm long, 2-keeled; upper glume boat-shaped, margins ciliate, slightly smaller than the lower, 1-keeled; lower lemma oblong, fringed at the apex, margins ciliate, about 3 mm long, nerves obscure; palea wanting; upper lemma linear-elliptical, pointed, slightly fringed, about 3 mm long; palea about 1 mm long, upper margin fringed. Caryopsis about 1.5 mm long, embryo 2/3 the length of the grain. Widely distributed in the warmer regions of Old World.

Asian plants with the leaves narrowed to the midrib towards the base and with a more or less triangular ligule are referable to subsp. spontaneum. In contrast, the African subsp. aegyptiacum (Wald.) Hack. has the leaves laminate to the base and the ligule is crescent-shaped. The latter also occurs in parts of the Middle East.

This species flowers and fruits at the end of the rains and is therefore capable of colonising areas such as soil and sand left bare by retreating floods. The root-system is extremely extensive and the grass acts as an effective sand-binder. If it should be burned in the dry season it may well be ousted by Imperata and perhaps other species of Saccharum.