Entry From
Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol 2
Description
A loosely clumped perennial grass, creeping rhizome, culm to l¼ m high, recorded from Sierra Leone to W Cameroons in the Region, and seemingly not elsewhere in Africa, but occurring in Asia, India to China, and in the Caribbean.No usage is recorded of the plant in the Region. The Herb. K holding has been held as S. chevalieri Stapf ( = S. megaphylla (Steud.) Dur. & Schinz.), and now recognised as a separate entity (2). Usages, if any, are perhaps as recorded for S. megaphylla, q.v.In Malaya, the leaves are part of a decoction taken for irregular menses (1), and the young shoots are eaten as a vegetable (3). The grain is eaten in parts of the Philippines as a substitute for rice (3).Traces of hydrocyanic acid have been found in the roots (3).
