Edible Plants of the World

Comb fringe grass, Coast Button Grass

A tropical plant. It grows in disturbed weedy places especially on sandy soils in S China. It grows in tropical to warm temperate regions. It grows on clayey, sandy or black soil along the borders of ponds, swamps and bogs. In West Africa it grows from sea level up to 2,000 m altitude. It grows in alkaline and salty soils. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 100-1,580 mm. It can grow in arid places. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Also known as:

Abou Asabé, Absabe, Abuasabee, Achele, Ahitrombilahy, Anchu Manchu, Bahma, Betombo, Bou, Chikara, Chimbari, Crow’s Foot Grass, Crowfoot, Cuaci, Cunher, Didok-chi, Duck grass, Eleusine, Ewuduwudu,Father of fingers, Kakuriya, Koreeb, Kreb, Maahui, Madhana, Makara, Makra, Makri, Manchi anchi, Manchi, Mathna, Muttengapilloo, Myet-lay-gwa, Najm, Naparapare, Nasei, Nsonko, Saddexo, Sodee, Tamida, Te utuete, Ukuku

Synonyms

Edible Portion

Where does Comb fringe grass grow?

Found in: Afghanistan, Africa, American Samoa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial-Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marquesas, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Notes: There are 13 Dactyloctenium species. Chemical composition (Sudan sample): Protein (crude) = 13.1% (dry). Oil = 1.9% (dry). Fibre (crude) = 4.4% (dry). Ash (insoluble) = 8.3% (dry). Sulphur = .18% (dry). Potassium = 0.39% (dry). Manganese = 0.22% (dry). Calcium = 1.07% (dry). Na = 0.02% (dry). K = 0.30% (dry). Zinc = 69 mg/kg-1 Iron = 121 mg/kg-1 (dry). Mn = 425 kg/kg-1 (dry). Copper = 7 mg/kg-1 (dry). Aluminium = 172 mg/kg-1 (dry). Carbohydrate (soluble): Starch = 46.9% (dry). Sucrose = 1.2% (dry). D-glucose = 0.2%(dry). D-fructose = 1.4% (dry). Amino acids (g [16g N ]-1): Aspartic acid = 6.1g. Threonine = 3.7%. Serine = 4.8g. Glutamic acid = 27.6g. Proline = 7.1g. Glycine = 3.5g. Alanine = 7.5g. Valine = 5.8g. Cysteine = 1.5g. Methionine = 3.2g. Isoleucine = 4.8g. Leucine = 9.9g. Tyrosine = 3.5g. Phenylalanine = 6.8g. Histidine = 2.4g. Lysine = 2.0g. Arginine = 4.2g. Fatty acids (saturated): 14:0 = <0.1g/100g-1. 16:0 = 21.5. 18:0 = 5.2. 22:0 = 0.6. 24:0 = <0.1g/100g-1; (monounsaturated): 16:1 = 0.1. 18:1 = 42.0. 20:1 = 0.4; (polyunsaturated): 18:2 = 28.5. 18:3 = 1.5. (Chemical composition (after Paton & Dunlop (grams per 100g) (Anchu Manchu): Protein = 12.87g. Fat = 2.08g. Carbohydrate (soluble) = 64.03g. Fibre = 4.86g. Ash = 4.58g. Water = 11.58g. Calories = 335. (Mali ): Protein = 8.41g. Fat = 1.45g. Carbohydrate (soluble) = 38.97g. Fibre = 36.95g. Water = 8.48g. Calories = 201.

Status: It is a famine food.

Growing Comb fringe grass, Coast Button Grass

Cultivation: Plants can be grown from seeds.

Edible Uses: The seeds are husked then boiled into a porridge. They are also roasted in a hot pot to soften them. It is then pounded into flour and cooked into porridge. The rhizome or runners are eaten raw. It is used in kreb a grain mixture eaten in Chad and Sudan.

Production: The seeds are collected during the dry season. The seeds can be stored for several months.

Nutrition Info

per 100g edible portion

Edible Part Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (ug) Vitamin c (mg) Zinc (mg) % Water
Seeds 344 15.7 - - - - 11.4
Seeds 295 9.8 6.9 - - 4.7 7.5

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