Imperata cylindrica 1

Imperata cylindrica

Imperata cylindrica

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

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae Unranked: Angiosperms Unranked: Monocots Unranked: Commelinids Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Imperata

Species: I. cylindrica

Binomial name

Imperata cylindrica(L.) P. Beauv.

Synonyms

See text

Imperata cylindrica 2

'Rubra' cultivar

Imperata cylindrica, commonly known as blady grass, cogon grass(pronounced /koʊˈɡoʊn/), kunai grass (pronounced /ˈkuːnaɪ/), orJapanese bloodgrass, is a species of grass in the genus Imperata. It isplaced in the subfamily Panicoideae, supertribe Andropogonodae, tribeAndropogoneae.

It is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and southeast Asia,India, Micronesia, Australia, and eastern and southern Africa. It growsfrom 0.6–3 m (2–10 feet) tall. The leaves are about 2 cm wide near thebase of the plant and narrow to a sharp point at the top; the margins arefinely toothed and are embedded with sharp silica crystals. The mainvein is a lighter colour than the rest of the leaf and tends to be nearer to one side of the leaf. The upper surface ishairy near the base of the plant while the underside is usually hairless. Roots are up to 1.2 meters deep, but 0.4 m istypical in sandy soil.

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

Cultivation and usesIt 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 usefulnessmay be seen in its medicinal properties which include astringent, febrifuge, diuretic, tonic, and styptic actions. It isused 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 easyto chew.[2] [3]

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

Imperata cylindrica 3

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

Flammability

Green kunai grass on fire in Papua New Guinea

Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that typesof this grass are quite flammable even when apparentlygreen[7] - particularly in Southeast Asian climates. It isnot uncommon to see hillsides of cogon grass on fire.[8]

[9]

A common expression in the Philippines is ningascogon ('cogon brush fire'). It is a figure of speech forprocrastination, specifically people who show a ferventinterest in a new project but lose interest quickly. It's inreference to the propensity of cogon grass to catch fireand burn out quickly.[10]

Taxonomy

Imperata cylindrica was first described by Linnaeus in 1759 under the basionym Lagurus cylindricus.[11] They wererenamed by the French entomologist and botanist Palisot de Beauvois to the current accepted name of Imperatacylindrica.

Synonyms include:

• Calamagrostis lagurus (L.) Koeler • Lagurus cylindricus L.• Imperata allang Jungh. • Saccharum cylindricum (L.) Lam.• Imperata arundinacea Cirillo • Saccharum europeaum Pers.• Imperata koenigii (Retz.) P.Beauv. • Saccharum koenigii Retz.• Imperata pedicellata Steud. • Saccharum laguroides Pourr.• Imperata sieberi Opiz • Saccharum sisca Cav.• Imperata thunbergii P. Beauv. • Saccharum thunbergii Retz.[12]

EtymologyFrom Spanish cogón, from the Tagalog and Visayan kugon.[13]

Local namesLocal 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 4

• Banjarese: halalang • Laotian: (ຫຍ້າ)ຄາ Lao pronunciation: [ɲȁː kʰáː]• Bengali : kush • Malay: lalang

• Catalan: xisca • Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea): kunai

• French: paillote, impérata cylindrique, paille de dys • Sinhala: illuk

• German: Blutgras • Spanish: cisca, cogón

• Indonesian: alang-alang • Sundanese: eurih

• Japanese: チガヤ chigaya • Tagalog: kugon, cogon

• Khmer: ស្បូវ Khmer pronunciation: [sbəv] • Thai: (หญ้า)คา Thai pronunciation: [jâː kʰaː]• Korean: 띠 ddi • Vietnamese: cỏ tranh

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 GrasslandsJournal 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 forCommunity 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 - APhoto 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 generalinformation and resources for Cogongrass.

Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsImperata 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 Contributorsfile:JapaneseBloodGrass2.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:JapaneseBloodGrass2.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  Contributors: Original uploaderwas GearedBull at en.wikipediaFile:Gardenology.org-IMG 0011 rbgm10dec.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gardenology.org-IMG_0011_rbgm10dec.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Raffi KojianImage: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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