Desmostachya bipinnata

Desmostachya bipinnata
Desmostachya bipinnata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Desmostachya
Species: D. bipinnata
Binomial name
Desmostachya bipinnata
(L.) Stapf[1]
Synonyms[2][3][4]
  • Briza bipinnata L.
  • Eragrostis bipinnata (L.) K.Schum.
  • Eragrostis cynosuriodes (Retz.) P.Beauv.
  • Poa cynosuriodes Retz.
  • Stapfiola bipinnata (L.) Kuntze
  • Uniola bipinnata (L.) L. (basionym)

Desmostachya bipinnata, commonly known in English by the names Halfa grass, Big cordgrass, and Salt reed-grass,[5] is an Old World perennial grass, long known and used in human history. In India it is known by many names, including: Daabh, Dharba, Kusha, etc.[6]

Contents

Distribution

Desmostachya bipinnata is native to northeast and west tropical, and northern Africa (in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia); and countries in the Middle East, and temperate and tropical Asia (in Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand).[2]

Uses

Medicinal

In folk medicine, Desmostachya bipinnata has been used variously to treat dysentery and menorrhagia, and as a diuretic.[7]

Religious

Desmostachya bipinnata has long been used in various traditions as a sacred plant. According to early Buddhist accounts, it was the material used by Buddha for his meditation seat when he attained enlightenment.[8] The plant was mentioned in the Rig Veda for use in sacred ceremonies and also as a seat for priests and the Gods.[9] Kusha grass is specifically recommended by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as part of the ideal seat for meditation.[10]

Other

In arid regions, Desmostachya bipinnata has been used as fodder for domesticed livestock.[2]

Weed information

In agricultural, Desmostachya bipinnata is a weed commonly found in wheat crops.[11]

Notes

  1. ^  Desmostachya bipinnata was published in W. T. Thiselton-Dyer's Flora Capensis; being a systematic description of the plants of the Cape Colony, Caffraria, & port Natal. London 7(4): 632. 1900 "Plant Name Details for Desmostachya bipinnata". IPNI. http://www.ipni.org:80/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=398084-1. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c  GRIN (August 31, 2000). "Desmostachya bipinnata information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?13689. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  3. ^  Uniola bipinnata, the basionym for D. bipinnata, was originally described and published in Species Plantarum ed. 2, 1:104. 1762 GRIN (August 31, 2000). "Uniola bipinnata information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?40873. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Desmostachya bipinnata". Flora of Pakistan. eFloras. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200025171. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
  5. ^ Martha Modzelevich. "Desmostachya bipinnata". Flowers in Israel. http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Desmostachyabipinnata_page.htm. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Daabh". Flowers of India. http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Daabh.html. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  7. ^ James A. Duke. "Desmostachya bipinnata (POACEAE)". Green Farmacy Garden, Fulton, Maryland: Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Desmostachya%20bipinnata. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 
  8. ^ Professor Paul Williams (2006). Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies (Critical Concepts in Religious Studies S.). New York: Routledge. p. 262. ISBN 0-415-33226-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ypsz9qEzZjwC&pg=PA262. 
  9. ^ Griffith, Ralph T. H. (1896). The Hymns of the Rigveda, Volume 1. p. 4. http://books.google.com/books?id=cTQd3lfz_VgC&pg=PA4. 
  10. ^ "Establishing a firm seat for himself, In a clean place, Not too high, Not too low, covered with cloth, and antelope skin, and kusha grass" (B.G. VI:11) Smith, Huston; Chapple, Christopher; Sargeant, Winthrop (2009). The Bhagavad Gita (Excelsior Editions). Excelsior Editions/State University of New Yo. p. 282. ISBN 1-4384-2842-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=4JoicgCMZ5cC&pg=PA282. 
  11. ^ Ahmad, R., Shaikh, A.S. (January-June, 2003). "Common Weeds of Wheat and Their Control". Pakistan Journal of Water Resources 7 (1): 73–76. http://www.pcrwr.gov.pk/New_Journals/Vol7-1/common_weeds.pdf. Retrieved June 15, 2011. 

Further reading