Imperata Cylindrica 'Cogongrass'-EDIBLES-seeds

IMPERATA CYLINDRICA      “Cogongrass”

500+ seeds

Family: Poaceae. 

Sprouting: 14-40 days.

Native to Australia, east and southeast Asia, India, Micronesia and eastern and southern Africa. Known to be highly flammable, even when green and will recolonise profusely after a fire due to its subterranean rhizomes.

Also called kunai grass, blady grass, satintail, sword grass, spear grass, cottonwool grass, thatch grass, kura-kura, alang-alang, lalang grass among other names.  Perennial growing to 2m, they can also penetrate to 1.2m deep, especially in sandy soil, making them great for stabilising soils that have been majorly disturbed, such as mining sites and areas subject to erosion. Used for roof-thatching in Papua New Guinea. Drought and frost resistant.

While it is used for papermaking, thatching, and weaving into bags & hats, it is also used in traditional Chinese medicine due to its astringent, febrifuge, diuretic, tonic and styptic action properties. According to PFAF, young inflorescences and shoots may also be eaten cooked, and the roots contain starch and sugars and are therefore easy to chew.

Photo of plant: JMK, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons; retrieved 22 May 2024 –1.24pm AEST and edited using Canva.

Photo of florets: - June Parkin; Location: Sydney NSW, Australia; Date: 6OCT2023

The Chakra Garden cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. 

Always seek advice from a professional before eating or using a plant medicinally.

****Please note: these are seeds (we are NOT selling these as live plants). Quarantine restrictions and costs prohibit us from selling these seeds to WA, Tas, and Internationally.