Goose grass (Eleusine indica) Complete detail – updated

Goose grass (Eleusine indica) Complete detail – updated. Description of Goose grass (Eleusine indica). Medicinal uses of Goose grass (Eleusine indica). Mainly used as fodder. Classification of Goose grass (Eleusine indica). Decoction of the fresh plant used as a diuretic and for dysentery, Also used for the treatment of fever, Dandruff, Post-partum, Sprains and lumbago, Hemoptysis, hypertension, hemoptysis, asthma, jaundice etc.

Goose grass is one of the popular grass species in India. It is a tufted annual grass, prostrate and spreading, or erect to about 40 cm, depending on density of vegetation but not usually rooting at the nodes. Goose grass is a perennial fodder for local fauna. The plant is also used for paper manufacture. 

The root system is very well developed and strong and the name jongos grass, used in South Africa, implies that it takes a young ox to uproot it. On germination, the first leaf, about 1 cm long, tapers very suddenly to a point and may be pressed quite flat on the soil. Later leaves are flat to V-shaped, up to…………..

Description 

Goose grass is one of the popular grass species in India. Goose grass is a perennial fodder for local fauna. It grows in moist as well as marshy areas, puddles, shallow ponds, fields, river and stream edges, ditches, canals etc.

It is tolerant of heavy disturbance like trampling, organic pollution and can grow along sewage lines, gutters easily. It is a small annual grass distributed throughout the warmer areas of the world.

It is a tufted annual grass, prostrate and spreading, or erect to about 40 cm, depending on density of vegetation but not usually rooting at the nodes. The root system is very well developed and strong and the name jongos grass, used in South Africa, implies that it takes a young ox to uproot it. On germination, the first leaf, about 1 cm long, tapers very suddenly to a point and may be pressed quite flat on the soil. Later leaves are flat to V-shaped, up to 8 mm wide, 15 cm long and come to a longer, acute, boat-shaped tip.

They are glabrous and usually quite bright, fresh green in color. The ligule is a very short membranous rim up to 1 mm long, sparsely fringed with short hairs. The sheaths and stem bases are distinctly flattened.

Classification

Common Name – Goose grass

Botanical Name – Eleusine indica

Kingdom – Plantae

Subkingdom – Tracheobionta

Superdivision – Spermatophyta

Division – Magnoliophyta

Class – Monocotyledonae

Subclass – Commelinidae

Order – Cyperales

Genus – Eleusine Gaertn

Family – Poaceae

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical regions. Distributed almost throughout the tropical world and extends significantly into the sub-tropics, especially in North America, Europe and Africa.

Uses

Mainly used as fodder. The whole plant, but especially the root, is depurative, diuretic, febrifuge, laxative and sudorific. It is also used in the treatment of liver complaints. The plant is a component of the ‘basic remedy’ in Vietnamese traditional medicine, it is also used in the treatment of influenza, hypertension, oliguria and retention of urine. The plant can be used fresh or dried. The stems are used to make mats, baskets etc.

The plant is also used for paper manufacture. Decoction of the fresh plant used as a diuretic and for dysentery. Also used for the treatment of fever, Dandruff, Post-partum, Sprains and lumbago, Hemoptysis, hypertension, hemoptysis, asthma, jaundice etc.