Vossia cuspidata Griff.

Hippo grass (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae > Vossia

Characteristics

Perennial; culms submerged or floating, up to 7 m. long and 1 cm. in diameter, spongy, with fibrous roots from the nodes, standing 1–2 m. out of the water.. Leaf-blades linear, 30–100 cm. long and 6–18 mm. wide.. Racemes 1–12, each 10–30 cm. long.. Sessile spikelet narrowly ovate; lower glume 2–4 cm. long, the body 6–8 mm. long and yellowish, the tail green.. Pedicelled spikelet a little smaller than the sessile.. Fig. 193.
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A plant that keeps growing from year to year. It can be under the water or floating. The stalks are 7 m long. They are 1 cm across and are spongy. There are fibrous roots from the nodes. It stands 1-2 m out of the water. The leaf blades are 30-100 cm long by 6-19 mm wide. There are 1-12 flower stalks each 10-30 cm long. The spikelets do not have stalks.
Perennial; culms submerged or floating, up to 7 m long and 1 cm in diameter, spongy, with fibrous roots from the nodes, standing 1–2 m out of the water.
Sessile spikelet narrowly ovate; inferior glume 2–4 cm long, the body 6–8 mm long, yellowish with green tail.
Perennial, the spongy culms submerged or floating, rooting from the submerged nodes
Pedicelled spikelet a little smaller than the sessile.
Leaf laminas 30–100 cm × 6–18 mm, linear.
Racemes 1–12, each 10–30 cm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.1 - 0.3
Root system fibrous-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c4

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It grows in or near water. It is often floating. It is often in savannah regions.
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In water near the margins of lakes and rivers.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The stems are chewed.
Uses animal food environmental use material medicinal
Edible stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Vossia cuspidata world distribution map, present in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central African Republic, Congo, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Myanmar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Chad, Thailand, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Viet Nam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Vossia cuspidata threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:426602-1
WFO ID wfo-0000907289
COL ID 5BRGY
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Ischaemum ensiforme Vossia cuspidata Ischaemum cuspidatum Vossia procera Vossia cuspidata var. polystachya Vossia cuspidata var. cuspidata