Urochloa ramosa | |
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Urochloa ramosa (formerly Brachiaria ramosa) from Ambanja, Madagascar | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Genus: | Urochloa |
Species: | U. ramosa
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Binomial name | |
Urochloa ramosa (L.) T.Q.Nguyen
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Synonyms[1] | |
List
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Urochloa ramosa,(formerly Brachiaria ramosa) the browntop millet or Dixie Signalgrass,[2] is an annual, millet grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). The native range of Urochloa ramosa is from Africa to tropical and subtropical Asia.
The reconstructed Proto-Dravidian name for Brachiaria ramosa is *conna-l.[3]
It has glabrous (hairlass) spikelets, are about 3.3 mm (0.1 in) long, the upper of each pair on a pedicel (stalk) about as long as the spikelet. The spikelets are more often slightly or distinctly puberulent and pedicels are often shorter. Plants found in Malesia and Australia always have shorter spikelets (only up to 3 mm long).[4][5]
Seed germination can happen in up to 5 days and the rapidly growing crop can then be harvested in the next two months. Its fine stems and leaves allow the plant to dry sufficiently to be used as a dry hay product.[2]
It was originally published as Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 542 in 1919, before being renamed and published and described by botanist T.Q.Nguyen in Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 3: 13 in 1966.[1][6][7]
The specific epithet, ramosa, is a Latin adjective meaning "branched" which describes the plant as bearing branches.[8]
It is found in Afghanistan, Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, China, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Ivory Coast, Java, Kenya, Lesser Sunda Islands, Liberia, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces (South Africa), Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, (island of) Socotra, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen and Zimbabwe.[1]
It has been introduced to; parts of U.S.A. (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia), South America (Peru), Africa (Madagascar, Mauritius and island of Réunion), and parts of Australia,[9] (Christmas Island, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia).[1]
In South Asia, it is traditionally cultivated as a cereal crop.[10][11] The grain is also used as a birdseed, and forage crop (in the US) for domestic animals and game animals (such as deer and rabbit) and for birds such as turkey, duck, dove, quail and pheasant.[2] Browntop millet can represent up to 10–25% of the diet of terrestrial and water birds.[12] Also 50% of ingested seed found in mourning dove’s crops was browntop millet.[13] Urochloa ramosa is also used to suppress root-knot nematode populations in tomato and pepper crops in south-eastern states of America.[14]
It is affected by insect pests such as:[15]
Within the US, army worms (Mythimna unipuncta) and grasshoppers are the common insect problems.[2]