Saccharum spontaneum

Kans grass
File:K5601-19.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Genus:	Saccharum
Species:	S. spontaneum
Binomial name
Saccharum spontaneum L.

File:Saccharum spontaneum at the bank of rever Ganges 07102013 01.jpg

Kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum)

Saccharum spontaneum (wild sugarcane, Kans grass, Hindi: काँस kām̥s, Odia: କାଶତଣ୍ଡି kāśataṇḍi, Assamese: কঁহুৱা, খাগৰী kahuwa, khagori) is a grass native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots.

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.

Uses

Saccharum spontaneum has a considerable number of regional names in the Indian Subcontinent, for instance kash [কাশ] being common in Bengali/Bangla [বাংলা]. Some of these are given, along with Ayurvedic medical properties.

External links

• Data related to Saccharum spontaneum at Wikispecies