Dactyloctenium aegyptium

COMMON NAMES- Crowfoot Grass, Beach Wiregrass, Coast button grass, Comb fringe grass, Duck Grass, Durban Crowfoot, Egyptian Fingergrass, Egyptian grass, Finger comb grass, Four- finger Gasses.
BOTANICAL NAMES–Dactyloctenium aegyptium

FAMILY - Poaceae (grass Family)

DESCRIPTION-

Egyptian crowfoot grass is a tufted, slightly stoloniferous annual or short- lived perennial grass, up to 75 cm high. It is much branched. The stems are slender, erect and ascending.  The stolons may creep and they root from the lower nodes. Roots are horizontal. The leaves are broadly linear, succulent and crisp. The inflorescences are borne at the apex of the stem. They are typically digitate or sub digitate arranged in 2 to 6 unilateral, horizontal spikes. Egyptian crowfoot grass is highly available. The seeds are angular, wrinkled or very rugose, white or brown in colour.

USES-

·         It is a multipurpose grass. It is mainly used as fodder and relished by all classes of ruminants.

·         It makes valuable annual pastures in semi-arid areas as well as excellent hey.

·         It is suitable for silage (Bogdan, 1977; Bartha 1970). The seeds can be fed to poultry or used to make alcoholic beverages, and are teen by humans in periods of scarcity.

·         They have ethnomedicinal properties and may be used in fish poisoning (Porta, 2013).Grains is given to mother after childbirth suffering from bellyache.

·         Decoction of seeds is used as alleviator of pains in the region of kidney and seeds are also used in making chapaties or haluwa and eaten as a cooling agent.

·         The herbaceous parts are applied externally for the cure of ulcers (Yusuf et al. 2009).

·         Used as a food grain in times of scarcity in India and Africa but is said to have an unpleasant taste and to cause internal disorders (Bor, 1960).

·         Folkloric - Decoction of plant, in fresh or in dry state, used internally for dysentery and acute hemoptysis.

·         In Africa, decoction of seeds used to relieve pains in the region of the kidney; stems and leaves applied externally for treatment of ulcers.

·         In traditional Thai medicine, use for diuretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effects. In India, juice of fresh plant used for fevers. Used externally for wounds and ulcers.