Code
VEINI
Growth form
Grass
Biological cycle
Vivacious
Habitat
Marshland
Chrysopogon nigritanus (Benth.) Veldkamp
synonym | Andropogon nigritanus Benth. |
synonym | Andropogon squarrosus var. nigritanus (Benth.) Hack. |
synonym | Andropogon zizanioides var. nigritanus (Benth.) A.Chev. |
synonym | Chrysopogon zizanioides var. nigritana (Benth.) Roberty |
synonym | Jardinea kibambeleensis Vanderyst, nom. nud. |
synonym | Mandelorna insignis Steud. |
synonym | Vetiveria nigritana (Benth.) Stapf |
synonym | Vetiveria zizanioides var. nigritana (Benth.) A.Camus |
No Data |
Global description
Chrysopogon nigritanus is a large, vivacious, tufted grass that grows up to 3 m tall. The leaves are rough, linear, pointed, often folded, with scabrid margin. The sheath is compressed, carinated, the ligule reduced to a line of hair. The inflorescence is a large pyramidal panicle composed of numerous purple racemes arranged in whorls. The spikelets are paired, one sessile, hermaphrodite, the other pedicelled, only male.
General habit
Large, vivacious, upright, rhizomatous, tufted grass, 1.5 to 3 m in height.
Underground system
The underground system is fasciculated and rhizomatous. The roots are not aromatic unlike Chrysopogon zizanioides.
Culm
The culm is stout, glabrous and shiny with yellow to pale green color, compressed at the base. The knots are glabrous.
Leaf
The leaf is firm, rigid and glabrous. The sheath is compressed, keeled, pale yellow. The ligule is reduced to a ring of short hairs. The limb is closely linear, terminating in a point. It is up to 1 m long and 7 to 10 mm wide. The leaves are often folded, especially at the base and then spread in the upper part, with thick ribs. The margin is smooth at the base and scabrid at the top. Both sides are glabrous.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is a large lanceolate panicle, more or less wide, which measures 15 to 40 cm long. The racemes are numerous, whorled, 5 to 15 cm long, pedunculate, slender and fragile. Long linear internodes 6 to 9 mm long. The spikelets are grouped by 2, one is sessile and hermaphrodite, the other is pedicellate, only male. They are virtually alike, with rounded basal callus and beard (light brown hair 1 mm).
The hermaphrodite sessile spikelet is 4.5 to 7 mm long. It is greenish to purple in color. It is linear, acute, prolonged by a short and straight awn of 5 mm in length practically not excerted from the glumes. The glumes are equal, leathery, ended in a point. The lower glume acute with rounded back, the navicular upper glume with hyaline and ciliated margins, keeled upwards and trinervated. The lower flower is empty, formed by a hyaline lemma with ciliated margins. The upper flower is fertile, with narrow lemma, hyaline slightly bidentate, prolonged by a straight or curved awn of 1 to 5 mm. Palea is hyaline, small, with ciliated margins. 3 stamens.
The male spikelet is slightly shorter than the sessile and fertile spikelet, it is awnless, purple in color. The upper glume is membranous and not spinescent.
Grain
The grain is oblong.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Benin: Chrysopogon nigritanus flowers all around the year
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Chrysopogon nigritanus is very similar to C. fulvibarbis, which is distinguished by a long, geniculate spikelet awn, 10-20 mm long, emerging from the glumes, and C. zizanioides (Vetiver) with aromatic roots. This later species is grown for the aromatic oil extracted from its roots.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Benin: Alluvial plains, savannas, marshy meadows.
China: Absent
Ivory Coast: A widespread species in all phytogeographical domains of Côte d'Ivoire but more abundant in the central and northern regions. It is characteristic of the low alluvial plains and some marshy savannas of the littoral area, at the edge of ponds and rivers.
Madagascar: Absent
Mauritius: Absent
Niger: Chrysopogon nigritanus is a hygrophilous species whose area is limited to the low alluvial plains along the rivers of southern Niger. It is also found in the meadows bordering the ponds and prefers clay soils, more or less muddy and long submerged. Species that transition between aquatic plants and land plants.
Reunion: Absent
West Indies: Absent
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Worldwide distribution
Chrysopogon nigritanus occurs in tropical Africa and Southern Africa.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Local harmfulness
Benin: rare and scanty in the rice field.
Ivory Coast: frequent and scanty in the rice field.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Livestock feed: In Benin, Chrysopogon nigritanus is used as a fodder plant.
Agronomy: An erosion plant used to stabilize dikes and embankments in wet areas.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
- Akoégninou, A., W. J. van der Burg and L. G. van der Maesen (2006). Flore analytique du Bénin. Cotonou, Bénin, Wageningen, Pays-Bas, Backhuis Publishers.
- Poilecot, P. 1999. Les Poaceae du Niger. Conservatoire et jardin botaniques de Genève, Genève, Suisse. Van der Zon, A.P.M. 1992. Graminées du Cameroun, volume 2, Flore. Wageningen Agric. Univ. Pays-Bas.
- Grard, P., T. Le Bourgeois, J. Rodenburg, P. Marnotte, A. Carrara, R. Irakiza, D. Makokha, G. kyalo, K. Aloys, K. Iswaria, N. Nguyen and G. Tzelepoglou (2012). AFROweeds V.1.0: African weeds of rice Montpellier, France & Cotonou, Bénin, Cirad-AfricaRice eds
- Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M., Keay, R.W.J., Hepper, F.N. 1972. Flora of west tropical africa. The Whitefriars Press, London & Tonbridge, Great Britain.
- Akoégninou, A., W. J. van der Burg and L. G. van der Maesen (2006). Flore analytique du Bénin. Cotonou, Bénin, Wageningen, Pays-Bas, Backhuis Publishers.
- Poilecot, P. 1999. Les Poaceae du Niger. Conservatoire et jardin botaniques de Genève, Genève, Suisse. Van der Zon, A.P.M. 1992. Graminées du Cameroun, volume 2, Flore. Wageningen Agric. Univ. Pays-Bas.
- Grard, P., T. Le Bourgeois, J. Rodenburg, P. Marnotte, A. Carrara, R. Irakiza, D. Makokha, G. kyalo, K. Aloys, K. Iswaria, N. Nguyen and G. Tzelepoglou (2012). AFROweeds V.1.0: African weeds of rice Montpellier, France & Cotonou, Bénin, Cirad-AfricaRice eds
- Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M., Keay, R.W.J., Hepper, F.N. 1972. Flora of west tropical africa. The Whitefriars Press, London & Tonbridge, Great Britain.
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT Chrysopogon nigritanus: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Chrysopogon%2520nigritanus
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT Vetiveria nigritana: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=vetiveria%2520nigritana
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Liliopsida |
Order | Poales |
Family | Poaceae |
Genus | Chrysopogon |
Species | Chrysopogon nigritanus (Benth.) Veldkamp |