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Chloris gayana
Also called Abyssinian Rhodes Grass, Hunyani Grass, Rhode's Grass, Rhodesian Blue Grass
Rhodes grass is a perennial forage and groundcover grass native to Africa, now naturalized across tropical and subtropical regions. It is grown for grazing and erosion control and is valued for drought tolerance and quick cover.
Chloris gayana is a species of grass known by the common name Rhodes grass. It is native to Africa but it can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical world as a naturalized species.
It can grow in many types of habitat. It is also cultivated in some areas as a palatable graze for animals and a groundcover to reduce erosion and quickly revegetate denuded soil. It is tolerant of moderately saline and alkaline soils and irrigation.
Its seasonal growth is in the spring and summer and its rainfall requirement is 600–750 mm per year. This low rainfall requirement means that this grass can survive in drier places. Rhodes grass can grow in a variety of soil conditions. Its ideal soil would be anything greater than a 4.3 pH level in terms of acidity. In addition to this, Chloris gayana has a moderate aluminum tolerance. The fact that this type of grass survives on little rainfall, can grow in low pH soils, and has a moderate tolerance to aluminum means that it may be beneficial to poor farmers in the sub-tropics. Less work is required to maintain this grass which means that the farmers can focus on other priorities. It is also beneficial to farmers who own land with poor soil.
Benefits from Chloris gayana can also be found in the plant's growth. The seed germinates quickly (1–7 days) depending on temperature. and it often achieves full ground cover within three months of sowing. This too is good for farmers when it comes to covering bare soil.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chloris gayana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
