Saccharum spontaneum

Saccharum spontaneum (wild sugarcane,[1] Kans grass) is a grass native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots.[2][3]

Kans grass
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Saccharum
Species:
S. spontaneum
Binomial name
Saccharum spontaneum
Kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum)

In the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands, a lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalaya range in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, kans grass quickly colonises exposed silt plains created each year by the retreating monsoon floods, forming almost pure stands on the lowest portions of the floodplain. Kans grasslands are an important habitat for the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). In Nepal, kans grass is harvested to thatch roofs or fence vegetable gardens.

Elsewhere, its ability to quickly colonize disturbed soil has allowed it to become an invasive species that takes over croplands and pasturelands, as has been documented in the Republic of Panama.[4]

Uses

Saccharum spontaneum has a considerable number of regional names in the Indian Subcontinent, for instance kash (কাশ) being common in Bengali/Bangla (বাংলা) and kasatandi (କାଶତଣ୍ଡୀ) in Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ). It is used in Ayurveda.[5][6]

This plant has hybridized with Saccharum officinarum, a domesticated sugarcane. The hybridization may have produced Saccharum barberi and Saccharum sinense.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Saccharum spontaneum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. http://assamforest.in/publication/wildEdible_plantsAssam.pdf
  3. http://assamplants.com/Alphabetical%20%20Order%20(Sc%20Name).htm
  4. Saltonstall, Kristin; Bonnett, Graham D.; Aitken, Karen S. (2020-11-21). "A perfect storm: ploidy and preadaptation facilitate Saccharum spontaneum escape and invasion in the Republic of Panama". Biological Invasions. doi:10.1007/s10530-020-02421-3. ISSN 1573-1464.
  5. Pankaj Oudhia (2001-3)
  6. http://assamplants.com/All%20Species/Saccharum%20spont.htm
  7. Paterson, Andrew H.; Moore, Paul H.; Tom L., Tew (2012). "The Gene Pool of Saccharum Species and Their Improvement". In Paterson, Andrew H. (ed.). Genomics of the Saccharinae. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 43–72. ISBN 9781441959478.


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