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Cynodon dactylon

 
Cynodon Dactylon

 
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Cynodon dactylon
 
 
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Cynodon dactylon (syn. Panicum dactylon, Capriola dactylon), also known as durva grass, Bermuda Grass, Dubo, Dog's Tooth Grass, Bahama Grass, Devil's Grass, Couch Grass, Indian Doab, Grama, and Scutch Grass, is a grass
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
 native to north Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. The name "Bermuda Grass" derives from its abundance as an invasive species
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
 on Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
; it does not occur naturally there.

The blades are a grey-green colour and are short, usually 4-15 cm long with rough edges.






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Cynodon dactylon (syn. Panicum dactylon, Capriola dactylon), also known as durva grass, Bermuda Grass, Dubo, Dog's Tooth Grass, Bahama Grass, Devil's Grass, Couch Grass, Indian Doab, Grama, and Scutch Grass, is a grass
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
 native to north Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. The name "Bermuda Grass" derives from its abundance as an invasive species
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
 on Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
; it does not occur naturally there.

The blades are a grey-green colour and are short, usually 4-15 cm long with rough edges. The erect stems can grow 1-30 cm (rarely to 90 cm) tall. The stems are slightly flattened, often tinged purple in color. The seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
 heads are produced in a cluster of 3-7 spikes (rarely 2) together at the top of the stem, each spike 3-6 cm long. It has a deep root system; in drought situations with penetrable soil, the root system can grow to over 2 m deep, though most of the root mass is less than 60 cm under the surface. The grass creeps along the ground and root wherever a node touches the ground, forming a dense mat. C. dactylon reproduces through seeds, through runners and rhizomes. Growth begins at temperatures above 15°C (59°F) with optimum growth between 24°C to 37°C (75-99°F); in winter the grass becomes dormant and turns brown. Growth is promoted by full sun & retarded by full shade, eg, close to tree trunks.

Cultivation and uses

C. dactylon is widely cultivated in warm climates all over the world between about 30° south and 30° north latitude, and that get between 625-1,750 mm (25-69 inches) of rainfall a year (or less, if irrigation is available). It is also found in the U.S. mostly in the southern half of the country and in warm climates. It is fast growing and tough, making it popular and useful for sports fields, as when damaged it will recover quickly. It is a highly desirable turf grass in warm temperate climates, particularly for those regions where its heat and drought tolerance enable it to survive where few other grasses do. It has a relatively coarse-bladed form with numerous cultivar
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s selected for different turf requirements. It is also highly aggressive, crowding out most other grasses and invading other habitats, and has become an invasive species
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
 in some areas. This invasive nature leads some gardeners to give it the name of "devil grass".
Bermudagrassmap

Medicinal values

Cynodon Dactylon has been studied at the University of Allahabad in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, and is said to have many medicinal properties including antimicrobial and antiviral properties, as well as treatment of urinary tract infections, prostatitis
Prostatitis

Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, in men. A prostatitis diagnosis is assigned at 8% of all urologist and 1% of all primary care physician visits in the United States....
, syphilis
Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always through sexual contact, although there are examples of congenital syphilis via transmission from mother to child in utero....
, and dysentery
Dysentery

Dysentery is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If untreated, Dysentery can be fatal....
.[] Primarily the research being conducted on C. Dactylon involves its glycemic potential, which is involved in the treatment of diabetes. The majority of research has only been performed on lab rats but the numbers are interesting. In laboratory rats treated with the ethanolic extract of defatted C. Dactylon, hypoglycemic and anti diabetic results were observed on the blood glucose levels of the tested population of lab rats.[] Test populations showed nearly a 50% drop in blood glucose levels when the proper dosage was administered.[] There is potential for cynodon dactylon to become and alternative to current diabetes medications in the future.

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