Palmgrass (Setaria palmifolia)

Palmgrass (Setaria palmifolia) is a plant species in Poaceae, a perennial grass with broad and leathery leaves, green, hairy, grows wild in the shade, is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, some cultivars have striped leaves and purple midribs, stems are eaten after cooking

S. palmifolia has a trunk that grows to 2-3 meters from a complex rhizome, 1 cm thick and hairy. Leaves are rarely completely hairy, blades linear, oval or lance-shaped, 60-80 cm long and 7-8 cm wide. Pointed tip, a bone in the middle, pleated texture and coarse or hairless hair.

The grain in panicles, yellowish green in color, opens and spreads, up to 80 cm long. Spikelets are several millimeters long but are often accompanied by hairs up to 1.5 cm long.

The grass is strong and spreads through rhizomes and seeds, forming monotypic stands. The broad leaves shade other vegetation. Cultivated as an ornamental plant for palm-like pleated leaves. It is also grown as a vegetable for stalks and grains are eaten as a substitute for rice.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Tribe: Paniceae
Subtribe: Cenchrinae
Genus: Setaria
Species: Setaria palmifolia

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