''Cenchrus biflorus'' is a species of
annual grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
in the family
Poaceae
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...
. Common names include Indian sandbur, ''Bhurat'' or ''Bhurut'' in India, ''Haskaneet'' in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, ''Aneeti'' in the Arabic dialect of
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
, ''K 'arangiya'' in the
Hausa language
Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coas ...
of
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, and ''Ngibbi'' in the
Kanuri language of Nigeria.
["Famine foods: Poaceae or Gramineae" Purdue University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architectur]
. Accessed December 29, 2007. In the francophone countries of the Sahel, it is usually referred to as "cram-cram" .
Description
''Cenchrus biflorus'' is an annual grass of the family Poaceae with culms between 4–90 cm high and spikelets that are 1-3 per
bur and 3.6 to 6 mm long. Seeds dispersal is through the attachment of burs to passing cars, animals and human clothes. The burs of the plant can be harmful to animals because it adheres to animal skin and may cause ulcers in mouths of animals.
Distribution
It is common in the
Sahel
The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
savannas of Africa, south of the
Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
. According to a
botanical criteria of geographer
Robert Capot-Rey, the northern limit of ''Cenchrus biflorus'' defines the southern boundary of the Sahara.
It is also found in India, where the seeds are used in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and its
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...
region to make bread, either alone or mixed with
bajra (millet).
Uses
A traditional food plant in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, this little-known grain has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. It is thus considered a famine food in several desertic areas. ''Cenchrus biflorus'' is also a valuable fodder plant for ruminants, particularly at its early stages of development.
[Heuzé V., Tran G., Delagarde R., 2017. Indian sandbur (Cenchrus biflorus). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/483 Last updated on July 17, 2017, 18:11]
References
External links
biflorus
Cereals
{{Panicoideae-stub