Description

A coarse annual grass, culms prop-rooted, erect to 1 m high; of disturbed sites across the Soudanian/Sahel zone of the Region from Senegal to Niger and N Nigeria, and generally throughout tropical Africa and into India and Malesia.The grass makes good pasturage on light Sahel soils (11). It is particularly valued as horse-feed (1, 3, 4, 7). In N Nigeria it is gathered at harvest time or after the rains, chopped up and fed to horses for about ten days to counteract the effects of their being too long on green fodder (5). It is distinctly bitter, a character giving rise to the Hausa name meaning ‘horses’ salt.’ The other Hausa roots derive from δachi: bitterness (8). (See word list above.) Cattle are said to take it, either green or in a dry state (Nigeria: 5; Kordofan: 2; Sudan: 9) but seemingly not everywhere for stock in Dahomey (10) and in Tanganyika (6) are reported as refusing it.Chemical analysis of Indian material shows crude protein 5.6%, crude fibre 28.2% and N-free extract 29.8% (3). Alkaloids thelepogine and thelepogidine and three unidentified bases are reported present (3, 12).

Description

A coarse annual grass, culms prop-rooted, erect to 1 m high; of disturbed sites across the Soudanian/Sahel zone of the Region from Senegal to Niger and N Nigeria, and generally throughout tropical Africa and into India and Malesia.The grass makes good pasturage on light Sahel soils (11). It is particularly valued as horse-feed (1, 3, 4, 7). In N Nigeria it is gathered at harvest time or after the rains, chopped up and fed to horses for about ten days to counteract the effects of their being too long on green fodder (5). It is distinctly bitter, a character giving rise to the Hausa name meaning ‘horses’ salt.’ The other Hausa roots derive from δachi: bitterness (8). (See word list above.) Cattle are said to take it, either green or in a dry state (Nigeria: 5; Kordofan: 2; Sudan: 9) but seemingly not everywhere for stock in Dahomey (10) and in Tanganyika (6) are reported as refusing it.Chemical analysis of Indian material shows crude protein 5.6%, crude fibre 28.2% and N-free extract 29.8% (3). Alkaloids thelepogine and thelepogidine and three unidentified bases are reported present (3, 12).