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Imperata cylindrica - (L.)Raeusch.

Common Name Cogongrass, Japanese Blood Grass
Family Poaceae or Gramineae
USDA hardiness 6-9
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Open sandy habitats, usually by a river or the sea shore in Europe[50]. Commonly found on impoverished soils in Australia[193].
Range E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Edibility Rating    (3 of 5)
Other Uses    (3 of 5)
Weed Potential Yes
Medicinal Rating    (3 of 5)
Care (info)
Frost Hardy Well drained soil Moist Soil Full sun
Imperata cylindrica Cogongrass, Japanese Blood Grass


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Imperata cylindrica Cogongrass, Japanese Blood Grass
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Summary

Form: Upright or erect.


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of flower
Imperata cylindrica is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 0.6 m (2ft in) at a slow rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

I. arundinacea. Miscanthus arundinacea. Saccharum cylindricum.

Plant Habitats

 Ground Cover; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers  Leaves  Root  Shoots
Edible Uses: Salt

Young inflorescence and young shoots - cooked[177, 179]. Root - fibrous but pleasant to chew, containing starch and sugar[144, 177, 179]. Fairly sweet, the taste is sweetest in the wet season in Australia and worst from plants growing in sand[193]. The ash of the plant is used as a salt substitute[177].

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

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Anthelmintic  Antibacterial  Antivinous  Astringent  Cancer  Diuretic  Dysentery  Emollient  
Febrifuge  Restorative  Sialagogue  Styptic  Tonic  Urinary

The flowers and the roots are antibacterial, diuretic, febrifuge, sialagogue, styptic and tonic[147, 176, 178]. The flowers are used in the treatment of haemorrhages, wounds etc[218]. They are decocted and used to treat urinary tract infections, fevers, thirst etc[147, 218]. The root is astringent, antifebrile, antivinous, diuretic, emollient, haemostatic, restorative and tonic[218, 240]. It is used in the treatment of nose bleeds, haematuria, haematemesis, oedema and jaundice[176]. The root has antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus dysenteriae etc[176]. A decoction of the root is used as an anthelmintic and also to treat digestive disorders such as indigestion, diarrhoea and dysentery[272]. The root bark is febrifuge, restorative and tonic[218]. Extracts of the plant have shown viricidal and anticancer activity[218].

References   More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

Paper  Soil stabilization  Stuffing  Thatching  Weaving

The leaves are woven to make mats, bags and raincoats[46, 61, 193]. The inflorescences are valued for stuffing pillows and cushions[272]. The stems are used in thatching roofs[46, 61, 178, 272]. A fibre obtained from the leaves is used in making paper[46, 61, 154]. Can be planted on sandy soils to prevent erosion[154, 272]. The plants form impenetrably dense clumps and when planted close together in drifts make an excellent ground cover[200].

Special Uses

Ground cover

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Landscape Uses:Alpine garden, Border, Massing, Rock garden, Specimen. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil in sun or partial shade[162, 187]. This species is only hardy in the southern part of Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -15°c when dormant[187], though the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. The var. I. cylindrica major. (Nees.)C.E.Hubb. is used medicinally in China[176] and as a wild food in Australia[193]. This species is quite closely related to sugar cane, it has been interbred experimentally with that species in India[193]. Plants grow away vigorously after a fire, often spreading freely to infest the burnt areas[144, 193]. Special Features:Attractive foliage, There are no flowers or blooms.

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

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Plant Propagation

Seed - surface sow in spring in a greenhouse. The seed germinates quickly, prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring as the plant comes into growth. Division is very easy and can be carried out at almost any time in the year, though winter divisions are best potted up in the greenhouse and planted out in late spring[K].

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt (Sinai), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation (Dagestan), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, Korea, Japan (Hokkaidô, Honshu, Kyushu, Ryukyu Islands, Shikoku) TROPICAL ASIA: Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines AUSTRALASIA: Australia (Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia (northeast), Northern Territory) EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Slovenia, Spain (incl. Baleares), France (s. & Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Spain (Canarias), Portugal (Madeira Islands), Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Gabon, Rwanda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D‘Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa (Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal)

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

(L.)Raeusch.

Botanical References

50200

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment

Hari Kumar Shrestha   Thu Apr 27 2006

Dear all, I have one querly i.e. about genes isolated from this Imperata cylindrica. Do anybody has this idea? Thanks! Hari

Hari Kumar Shrestha   Thu Apr 27 2006

Dear all, I have one query i.e. about genes isolated from this Imperata cylindrica. Do anybody has this idea? Thanks! Hari

shobha   Tue Jan 8 2008

shobha Can u please give me the abstrct related to antimicrobial activity of imerata cylindrica

Steven   Thu Apr 3 2008

dear all,can somebody tell me about the reproduction of this plant? *urgent* thanks

JESSA   Thu Jul 3 2008

GOOD EVE WHAT IS THE BIOACTIVE COMPOUND OF Imperata cylindrica AND CAN YOU SHOW US THE ABSTRACT ITS ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY.

bina   Sun Sep 13 2009

excuse me, can somebody tell me if it is possible to produce sugar from cogon grass?

raven   Sun Dec 27 2009

can some one tell me what subtance/s of imperata cylindrica can melt the kidney stoney or what subtance/s of imperata cylindrica that can help the a person that has an diabetes

Aliena   Tue Jan 12 2010

Yes, making sugar from cogon grass is possible. Same process with sugar cane.

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