Photos

Lalang or Imperata cylindrica - Village common Grass.

This grass is actually a very troublesome grass. It is a weed that is so difficult to get rid off. It grows everywhere. You have to use special pesticide to kill the plant, from the leaves to the rhizomes.
This one grows abundantly on the unattended places, especially the dry land.
Actually it is useful also if we know what to do with it, as written below. But in my villagr it gives no use.
Imperata cylindrica is a species of grass in the genus Imperata. It is placed in the subfamily Panicoideae, supertribe Andropogonodae, tribe Andropogoneae.
It is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and southeast Asia, India, Micronesia, Australia and eastern and southern Africa. It grows from 0.6-3 m (2-10 feet) tall. The leaves are about 2 cm wide near the base of the plant and narrow to a sharp point at the top; the margins are finely toothed and are embedded with sharp silica crystals. The main vein is a lighter colour than the rest of the leaf and tends to be nearer to one side of the leaf. The upper surface is hairy near the base of the plant while the underside is usually hairless. Roots are up to 1.2 meters deep, but 0.4 m is typical in sandy soil.
Common names include speargrass (Nigeria), blady grass (Australia), alang-alang, lalang (Malaysia), gi (Fiji), ngi, paille de dys, paillotte, impérata cylindrique, impérate, satintail, kasoring (Palau), cotton wool grass, cotranh (Viet Nam), illuk (Sri Lanka), yakha (Laos), kunai (New Guinea), silver spike (southern Africa), cogon grass, cogongrass (United States) and Bai Mao Gen (China).
It is used for thatching the roofs of traditional homes in Papua New Guinea.
It is planted extensively for ground cover and soil stabilization near beach areas and other areas subject to erosion. Other uses include paper-making, thatching and weaving into mats and bags. However, its most common usefulness may be seen in its medicinal properties which include astringent, febrifuge, diuretic, tonic and styptic action. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
A number of cultivars have been selected for garden use as ornamental plants, including the red-leaved 'Red Baron' (also known as Japanese blood grass).
Young inflorescences and shoots may be eaten cooked, and the roots contain starch and sugars and are therefore easy to chew.