Imperata cylindrica

Imperata cylindrica
Imperata cylindrica

Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron,' in a Boston, Massachusetts garden

Scientific classification Kingdom: Unranked: Unranked: Unranked: Order: Family: Genus: Species: Plantae Angiosperms Monocots Commelinids Poales Poaceae Imperata I. cylindrica Binomial name Imperata cylindrica (L.) P. Beauv. Synonyms See text

Imperata cylindrica

Imperata cylindrica, commonly known as blady grass, cogon grass (pronounced /koon/), kunai grass (pronounced /kuna/), or Japanese bloodgrass, is a species of grass in the genus Imperata. It is placed in the subfamily Panicoideae, supertribe Andropogonodae, tribe Andropogoneae. It is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and southeast Asia, India, Micronesia, Australia, and eastern and southern Africa. It grows from 0.63 m (210feet) tall. The leaves are about 2cm wide near the base of the plant and narrow to a sharp point at the top; the margins are 'Rubra' cultivar finely toothed and are embedded with sharp silica crystals. The main vein is a lighter colour than the rest of the leaf and tends to be nearer to one side of the leaf. The upper surface is hairy near the base of the plant while the underside is usually hairless. Roots are up to 1.2 meters deep, but 0.4 m is typical in sandy soil.

Common locations
Imperata cylindrica is found in areas where the soil has been disturbed, such as roadsides, building sites, timber harvesting areas, and borrow pits. It is able to invade both moist and dry upland pine forests. Once established it often forms dense monocultures.[1]

Cultivation and uses

It is used for thatching the roofs of traditional homes in Papua New Guinea. It is planted extensively for ground cover and soil stabilization near beach areas and other areas subject to erosion. Other uses include paper-making, thatching and weaving into mats and bags. However, its most common usefulness may be seen in its medicinal properties which include astringent, febrifuge, diuretic, tonic, and styptic actions. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine. A number of cultivars have been selected for garden use as ornamental plants, including the red-leaved 'Red Baron' (also known as Japanese blood grass). Young inflorescences and shoots may be eaten cooked, and the roots contain starch and sugars and are therefore easy to chew.[2] [3]

Weed problems
The plant has become naturalized in the Americas, Northern Asia, Europe and Africa in addition to many islands and is listed as an invasive weed in some areas. In the U.S. it survives best in the Southeast (and, according to a 2003 survey, has overtaken more acreage in that region than the notorious kudzu),[4] but has been reported to exist as far north as West Virginia and Oregon. Worldwide it has been observed from 45N to 45S. It grows on wet lands, dry lands, areas of high salinity, organic soils, clay soils and sandy soils of pH from 4.0 to 7.5. It prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade. It spreads both through small seeds, which are easily carried by the wind, and rhizomes which can be transported by tilling equipment and in soil transport. In the Southeastern United States, state governments have various eradication efforts in place, and deliberate propagation is prohibited by some authorities.[5] Control is typically by the use of herbicides. Burnoff is seldom successful since the grass burns quite hot causing heat damage to trees which would ordinarily be undamaged by a controlled burn and recovers from a burn quickly.

Imperata cylindrica The legume vine Mucuna pruriens is used in the countries of Benin and Vietnam as a biological control for Imperata cylindrica.[6]

Flammability
Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that types of this grass are quite flammable even when apparently green[7] - particularly in Southeast Asian climates. It is not uncommon to see hillsides of cogon grass on fire.[8]
[9]

A common expression in the Philippines is ningas cogon ('cogon brush fire'). It is a figure of speech for procrastination, specifically people who show a fervent interest in a new project but lose interest quickly. It's in reference to the propensity of cogon grass to catch fire and burn out quickly.[10]
Green kunai grass on fire in Papua New Guinea

Taxonomy
Imperata cylindrica was first described by Linnaeus in 1759 under the basionym Lagurus cylindricus.[11] They were renamed by the French entomologist and botanist Palisot de Beauvois to the current accepted name of Imperata cylindrica. Synonyms include:
Calamagrostis lagurus (L.) Koeler Imperata allang Jungh. Imperata arundinacea Cirillo Imperata pedicellata Steud. Imperata sieberi Opiz Imperata thunbergii P. Beauv. Lagurus cylindricus L. Saccharum cylindricum (L.) Lam. Saccharum europeaum Pers. Saccharum koenigii Retz. Saccharum laguroides Pourr. Saccharum sisca Cav. Saccharum thunbergii Retz. [12]

Imperata koenigii (Retz.) P.Beauv.

Etymology
From Spanish cogn, from the Tagalog and Visayan kugon.[13]

Local names
Local English names: Australia: blady grass Nigeria: speargrass South Africa: silver spike USA: cogongrass, cogon grass, cogon, kunai grass, sword grass, Japanese bloodgrass

Names in other languages:

Imperata cylindrica

Banjarese: halalang Bengali : kush Catalan: xisca German: Blutgras Indonesian: alang-alang Japanese: chigaya Khmer: Khmer pronunciation:[sbv] Korean: ddi

Laotian: () Lao pronunciation:[ k] Malay: lalang Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea): kunai Sinhala: illuk Spanish: cisca, cogn Sundanese: eurih Tagalog: kugon, cogon Thai: () Thai pronunciation:[j ka] Vietnamese: c tranh

French: paillote, imprata cylindrique, paille de dys

References
[1] "Beware of Cogon Grass" (http:/ / www. fl-dof. com/ forest_management/ fh_invasives_cogon. html). Florida Division of Forestry. . Retrieved 21 February 2010. [2] Imperata cylindrica - Plants For A Future database report (http:/ / www. pfaf. org/ database/ plants. php?Imperata+ cylindrica) [3] Imperata cylindrica (http:/ / www. lucidcentral. org/ keys/ FNW/ FNW grasses/ html/ fact sheets/ Imperata cylindrica. htm) [4] Aggressive weed becoming a menace worse than kudzu, UF researcher says (http:/ / news. ufl. edu/ 2007/ 07/ 05/ cogongrass/ ) [5] http:/ / www. newsobserver. com/ 1565/ story/ 1134380. html [6] "Factsheet - Mucuna pruriens" (http:/ / www. tropicalforages. info/ key/ Forages/ Media/ Html/ Mucuna_pruriens. htm). www.tropicalforages.info. . Retrieved 2008-05-21. [7] Species Description: Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. (http:/ / www. fao. org/ ag/ AGP/ agpc/ doc/ gbase/ DATA/ pf000261. htm) [8] 'Establishment of Stylo (Stylosanthes Guianensis) in Kunai (Imperata cylindrica) pastures and its Effect of Dry Matter Yield and Animal Production in the Markham Valley, Papua New Guinea by P.A. Chadhokar (http:/ / www. tropicalgrasslands. asn. au/ Tropical Grasslands Journal archive/ titles only/ early vol pdfs/ Vol 11 No 3/ Vol 11 [3] Paper 6 PNG. pdf) [9] Fire leaves 20 without shelter (http:/ / www. postcourier. com. pg/ 20090907/ news03. htm) [10] Filipino Culture: What is Ningas Cogon (http:/ / www. dailyrandomsites. com/ what-is-ningas-cogon/ ) [11] Wunderlin, R. P., and B. F. Hansen. 2008. Imperata cylindrica (http:/ / florida. plantatlas. usf. edu/ Plant. aspx?id=1407). Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http:/ / www. plantatlas. usf. edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa. [12] "Imperata cylindrica" (http:/ / www. tropicos. org/ NameSynonyms. aspx?nameid=25548549). Missouri Botanical Garden, http:/ / www. tropicos. org/ . . Retrieved February 3, 2011. [13] Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Cogon (http:/ / www. merriam-webster. com/ dictionary/ cogon)

External links
US National Park Service - Description of Cogon Grass and control measures (http://www.nps.gov/plants/ alien/fact/imcy1.htm) FAO information on Cogon (http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/DATA/PF000261.HTM) Edible and medicinal uses, cultivation, etc. (http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Imperata+cylindrica) Description (http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/delta/grass/www/imperata.htm) PLANTS Profile for Imperata cylindrica (cogongrass) | USDA PLANTS profile (http://plants.usda.gov/java/ profile?symbol=IMCY) Murniati (2002) From Imperata cylindrica Grasslands to productive Agroforestry (http://edepot.wur.nl/ 121366). PhD thesis Wageningen UR. Imperata cylindrica (http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=13& preview=true&searchTextMenue=Imperata+cylindrica&search=Wikitemplate) in West African plants - A Photo Guide. (http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/) Species Profile- Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) (http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/cogongrass. shtml), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Cogongrass.

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Imperata cylindrica Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=430472802 Contributors: 171046, AMorozov, Altairisfar, AnakngAraw, Atubeileh, Badagnani, Brighterorange, Cwmhiraeth, Dancingchicken91, Dfoxvog, Dieter Simon, Droll, Epp, Ethel Aardvark, Fastily, Flakinho, Gdgarber, GearedBull, Grandia01, Gurdjieff, Hamamelis, Hesperian, Hooperbloob, JLaTondre, Jboltonnal, Kaarel, Kalervo, Kandar, Kwamikagami, MPF, Marc Kupper, Marco Schmidt, MattBumstead, Mattisse, Maverick9711, Mild Bill Hiccup, Milton Stanley, Neutrality, Obsidian Soul, Quidam65, RaffiKojian, Rdavout, Rkitko, Tom87020, Ufuncecu, Wetbird, Wonderwanderer, Woohookitty, WriterHound, 32 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

file:JapaneseBloodGrass2.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:JapaneseBloodGrass2.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Original uploader was GearedBull at en.wikipedia File:Gardenology.org-IMG 0011 rbgm10dec.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gardenology.org-IMG_0011_rbgm10dec.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Raffi Kojian Image:Kunai on fire.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kunai_on_fire.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was 171046 at en.wikipedia

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