Panicum turgidum

Panicum turgidum
Panicum turgidum (right plant)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Genus:	Panicum
Species:	P. turgidum
Binomial name
Panicum turgidum Forssk.

Panicum turgidum is an old world clumping desert bunchgrass of the Panicum genus.

Distribution

It is common across the Sahara and Arabia, from Senegal to Pakistan, and known by the a number of common names, most widely as Taman, tuman, or thaman in Egypt and Arabia; merkba or markouba in Mauritania and some Saharan Arabics; and afezu in Tamachek. Other common names include guinchi (eastern Sahara) and du-ghasi (Somalia).

Description

Panicum turgidum is a perennial bunchgrass, growing in dense bushes up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall. It has roots at the nodes which are covered in hairs to which fine sand adheres creating a felty appearance.

It is drought- and salt-tolerant and used for flour, fodder, thatch and erosion control.

Ecology

In the Nigerien Sahara, tussocks of Panicum turgidum act as a nurse plants for tree regeneration. They have been shown facilitating the regeneration of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana by protecting seedlings from drought and domestic herbivory. Accordingly, transplanting seedlings of Saharan trees inside Panicum’s tussocks may promote substantially reforestation in degraded areas on a long-term scale.

References

• p. 261. Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Office of International Affairs, National Research Council. Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. The National Academies of Science, United States. (1996) ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0 .
• Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Panicum turgidum. (accessed 4 January 2009)
• Jacob Thomas. Biodiversity of Saudi Arabia: Vegetation. 20-5-2007.
• Culmess, Heike. (1997): Investigations on the feeding and migration behavior of the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria depending on the vegetation of Mauritania. Project Integrated Biological Control of Grasshoppers and Locusts. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH.
• Fabien Anthelmea, Maman Waziri Matob, Dimitri de Boissieua, Franck Giazzi. (2006). DÉGRADATION DES RESSOURCES VÉGÉTALES AU CONTACT DES ACTIVITÉS HUMAINES ET PERSPECTIVES DE CONSERVATION DANS LE MASSIF DE L'AÏR (SAHARA, NIGER). VertigO . VOLUME 7, Numéro 2, Art. 15.