Megathyrsus maximus

Details Top

Internal ID UUID6440313c3ff41568866113
Scientific name Megathyrsus maximus
Authority (Jacq.) B.K.Simon & S.W.L.Jacobs
First published in Austrobaileya 6: 572 (2003)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
Leaves, stems, and inflorescences are cut and baled as hay or made into silage for livestock (cattle, horses, goats, sheep), sometimes used as a cut-and-carry green fodder. Mature stem residues are baled post-grazing as roughage.

Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
Not used as a direct human food ingredient. Some genotypes are grown for grain; a small traditional use is as a source of flour or porridge in parts of East Africa and the Pacific (not a major commercial product). Processing is by threshing, winnowing, grinding, and cooking to flatbread or porridge.

Properties relevant to use:
Herbage yields 8–20 t DM/ha/year in well-managed tropical conditions; palatability varies by cultivar. Seeds typically 1–2 mm long; caryopsis with pericarp and starchy endosperm. Dry-matter digestibility typically 50–70% and metabolizable energy 8–11 MJ/kg DM depending on maturity and management. The species is C4 (NADP-malic enzyme subtype) with high photosynthetic capacity under warm, high-irradiance conditions, supporting rapid regrowth.

Scientific/model-organism use:
Used in comparative studies of C4 photosynthesis (e.g., anatomical, biochemical, and ecophysiological analyses) and in breeding research for stress tolerance and biomass quality. Not a standard model organism with a dedicated reference genome or community resource.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Megathyrsus bivonanus (Brullo, Miniss., Scelsi & Spamp.) Verloove Willdenowia 35: 63 (2005)
Megathyrsus maximus var. coloratus (C.T.White) B.K.Simon & S.W.L.Jacobs Austrobaileya 6: 573 (2003)
Megathyrsus maximus var. pubiglumis (K.Schum.) B.K.Simon & S.W.L.Jacobs Austrobaileya 6: 572 (2003)
Milium arundinaceum J.Koenig ex Steud. Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 70 (1853)
Panicum airoides Flüggé ex Nees Fl. Bras. Enum. Pl. 2: 175 (1829)
Panicum bivonanum Brullo, Miniss., Scelsi & Spamp. Giorn. Bot. Ital. 129: 173 (1995)
Panicum compressum Biv. Stirp. Rar. Sicilia 4: 6 (1818)
Panicum confine Hochst. ex A.Rich. Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2: 373 (1850)
Panicum eburneum Trin. Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. 3(2): 268 (1834)
Panicum giganteum Mez Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 34: 143 (1904)
Panicum heynii Roth Nov. Pl. Sp. : 49 (1821)
Panicum hirsutissimum Steud. Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 72 (1853)
Panicum jumentorum Pers. Syn. Pl. 1: 83 (1805)
Panicum laeve Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 172 (1791)
Panicum mahafalense A.Camus Bull. Soc. Bot. France 72: 620 (1925)
Panicum mananarense A.Camus Notul. Syst. (Paris) 15: 412 (1959)
Panicum maximum subsp. commune (Nees) Peter Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 40(1): 184. 1930 (1930)
Panicum maximum subsp. pubescens M.Sharma J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 7: 106 (1985)
Panicum maximum var. altissimum Kuntze Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(3): 362. 1898
Panicum maximum var. coloratum C.T.White Queensland Agric. J. 49: 112 (1938)
Panicum maximum var. commune Nees Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 36. 1841
Panicum maximum var. confine Chiov. Annuario Reale Ist. Bot. Roma 8: 33. 1902
Panicum maximum var. glaucum Nees Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 36. 1841
Panicum maximum var. heterotrichum Peter Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 40(1 Anh.): 42. 1930
Panicum maximum var. hirsutissimum (Steud.) Oliv. Trans. Linn. Soc. London 29: 171. 1875
Panicum maximum var. hirsutum Peter Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 40(1 Anh.): 42. 1930
Panicum maximum var. laeve Nees Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill. 36 1841
Panicum maximum var. pubiglume K.Schum. Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas , C: 85 (1895)
Panicum maximum var. trichoglume Robyns Mém. Inst. Roy. Colon. Belge, Sect. Sci. Nat. (8vo) , reimpr. 1: 31 (1932)
Panicum pamplemoussense Steud. Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 71 (1853)
Panicum poiforme Willd. ex Spreng. Syst. Veg. 1: 318 (1824)
Panicum polygamum Sw. Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. : 24 (1788)
Panicum praelongum Steud. Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 73 (1853)
Panicum praticola Salzm. ex Döll Fl. Bras. 2(1): 203 (1877)
Panicum scaberrimum Lag. Gen. Sp. Pl. : 2 (1816)
Panicum sparsum Schumach. Beskr. Guin. Pl. : 64 (1827)
Panicum teff Desv. Mém. Soc. Agric. Angers 1: 201 (1831)
Panicum tephrosanthum Hack. Bull. Herb. Boissier , sér. 2, 1: 766 (1901)
Panicum trichocondylum Steud. Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 74 (1853)
Panicum trichoglume K.Schum. Abh. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1894: 38 (1894)
Urochloa maxima var. trichoglumis (Robyns) R.D.Webster Austral. Paniceae (Poaceae) 242. 1987
Panicum maximum Jacq. Icon. Pl. Rar. 1: t. 13 (1781)
Urochloa maxima (Jacq.) R.D.Webster Austral. Paniceae : 241 (1987)
Panicum maximum var. obtusissimum A.Chev. Sudania 1: 163 (1911)
Panicum maximum var. effusum A.Camus Notul. Syst. (Paris) 15: 413 (1959)

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English guinea grass
English guineagrass
Afrikaans blousaad soetgras
Afrikaans blousaadsoetgras
Arabic دخن كبير
Arabic ثمام كبير
Arabic حشيشة الجينا
French herbe fataque
French fataque
French panic maximal
ht zèb ginen
Indonesian rumput benggala
Japanese ギニアキビ
Japanese ギネアキビ
Kannada ಗಿನಿ ಹುಲ್ಲು
Malayalam ഗിനിപ്പുല്ല്
Punjabi ਗਿੰਨੀ ਘਾਹ
Punjab گنی گھاہ
Portuguese capim-mombaça
Sango ngôngô
Swahili inde
Tamil கினியா புல்
Tonga saafa
Chinese 大黍
Chinese 羊草

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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No germination or propagation data was added yet.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • East Tropical Africa
      • Kenya
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
    • Macaronesia
      • Canary Islands
      • Cape Verde
      • Madeira
    • Middle Atlantic Ocean
      • Ascension
      • Saint Helena
    • Northeast Tropical Africa
      • Chad
      • Djibouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Socotra
      • Somalia
      • Sudan
    • Northern Africa
      • Egypt
    • South Tropical Africa
      • Angola
      • Malawi
      • Mozambique
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • Southern Africa
      • Botswana
      • Cape Provinces
      • Free State
      • Kwazulu-Natal
      • Namibia
      • Northern Provinces
      • Swaziland
    • West Tropical Africa
      • Benin
      • Burkina
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Ivory Coast
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Nigeria
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
    • West-central Tropical Africa
      • Burundi
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Congo
      • Gabon
      • Gulf Of Guinea Islands
      • Rwanda
      • Zaïre
    • Western Indian Ocean
      • Aldabra
      • Chagos Archipelago
      • Comoros
      • Madagascar
      • Mauritius
      • Mozambique Channel Islands
      • Rodrigues
      • Réunion
      • Seychelles
  • Asia-temperate
    • Arabian Peninsula
      • Gulf States
      • Oman
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Yemen
    • China
      • China Southeast
    • Eastern Asia
      • Japan
      • Taiwan
    • Western Asia
      • Lebanon-Syria
      • Palestine
  • Asia-tropical
    • Indian Subcontinent
      • Bangladesh
      • East Himalaya
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Sri Lanka
    • Indo-China
      • Andaman Islands
      • Laos
      • Myanmar
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Malesia
      • Borneo
      • Jawa
      • Lesser Sunda Islands
      • Malaya
      • Philippines
      • Sulawesi
      • Sumatera
    • Papuasia
      • New Guinea
      • Solomon Islands
  • Australasia
    • Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Norfolk Island
      • Northern Territory
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
    • New Zealand
      • New Zealand North
  • Europe
    • Middle Europe
      • Czechoslovakia
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Sicilia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • Spain
  • Northern America
    • Mexico
      • Mexico Central
      • Mexico Gulf
      • Mexico Northeast
      • Mexico Northwest
      • Mexico Southeast
      • Mexico Southwest
    • North-central U.S.A.
      • Oklahoma
    • South-central U.S.A.
      • Texas
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Alabama
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Louisiana
    • Southwestern U.S.A.
      • Arizona
      • California
  • Pacific
    • North-central Pacific
      • Hawaii
    • Northwestern Pacific
      • Caroline Islands
      • Marianas
      • Marshall Islands
    • South-central Pacific
      • Cook Islands
      • Easter Island
      • Line Islands
      • Marquesas
      • Society Islands
      • Tuamotu
      • Tubuai Islands
    • Southwestern Pacific
      • Fiji
      • New Caledonia
      • Niue
      • Samoa
      • Tonga
      • Vanuatu
  • Southern America
    • Brazil
      • Brazil North
      • Brazil South
      • Brazil Southeast
      • Brazil West-central
    • Caribbean
      • Bahamas
      • Bermuda
      • Cayman Islands
      • Cuba
      • Dominican Republic
      • Haiti
      • Jamaica
      • Leeward Islands
      • Netherlands Antilles
      • Puerto Rico
      • Southwest Caribbean
      • Trinidad-Tobago
      • Turks-caicos Islands
      • Venezuelan Antilles
      • Windward Islands
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Central American Pacific
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panamá
    • Northern South America
      • French Guiana
      • Guyana
      • Suriname
      • Venezuela
    • Southern South America
      • Argentina Northeast
      • Argentina Northwest
      • Paraguay
    • Western South America
      • Bolivia
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Galápagos
      • Peru

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000878966
Tropicos 25509812
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:321830-2
The Plant List kew-429196
PFAF Panicum maximum
Observations.org 133779
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0200002778
IPNI 321830-2
iNaturalist 414110
iNaturalist 208857
GBIF 2705868
Freebase /m/09g7kvk
EPPO PANMA
EOL 1115687
Elurikkus 232234
USDA GRIN 26558
Wikipedia Megathyrsus_maximus
Flora of Alabama 5085
Tropicos 50246319
INPN 672415
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60426565-2
Open Tree Of Life 861079
NCBI Taxonomy 59788
IPNI 60426565-2
iNaturalist 412821
GBIF 4108550
USDA GRIN 447623
Florida Plant Atlas 1431
USDA Plants URMA3
Tropicos 25538642
INPN 721767
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:943748-1
Observations.org 198902
Nature Serve 2.139353
IPNI 943748-1
iNaturalist 170074
GBIF 2705867
Calflora (Californian flora) 10436
USDA GRIN 462122

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
Unleashing the promise of emerging nanomaterials as a sustainable platform to mitigate antimicrobial resistance Rahman S, Sadaf S, Hoque ME, Mishra A, Mubarak NM, Malafaia G, Singh J RSC Adv 01-May-2024
PMCID:PMC11062400
doi:10.1039/d3ra05816f
PMID:38694553
Allergic Dermatitis in Pêga Breed Donkeys (Equus asinus) Caused by Culicoides Bites in the Amazon Biome, Pará, Brazil Barbosa JD, Sodré MH, Barbosa CC, da Costa PS, Oliveira CM, Ferreira TT, da Silveira JA, Lamego EC, Paz MC, Caldeira RD, Magalhães Matos PC, Serruya A, Salvarani FM, Silveira ND Animals (Basel) 29-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11083578
doi:10.3390/ani14091330
PMID:38731338
Cutaneous Mucormycosis in Buffalos in the Brazilian Amazon Biome Barbosa JD, Barbosa CC, Ferreira Filho CE, Moran JF, Oliveira CM, Bomjardim HD, da Costa PS, Brito MD, Paz MC, Lamego EC, Spanamberg A, Driemeier D Animals (Basel) 29-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11083279
doi:10.3390/ani14091327
PMID:38731337
Crop Diversity in Agroecosystems for Pest Management and Food Production Lenné J, Wood D Plants (Basel) 22-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11053515
doi:10.3390/plants13081164
PMID:38674573
Periparturient blood T-lymphocyte PD-1 and CTLA-4 expression as potential predictors of new intramammary infections in dairy cows during early lactation (short communication) Oliveira AC, de Souza CM, Ramos-Sanchez EM, Diniz SA, de Souza Lima E, Blagitz MG, Veras RC, Heinemann MB, Libera AM, De Vliegher S, de Carvalho Fernandes AC, Souza FN BMC Vet Res 20-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11031919
doi:10.1186/s12917-024-03977-1
PMID:38641805
Aroplectrus dimerus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Ectoparasitoid of the Nettle Caterpillar, Oxyplax pallivitta (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae): Evaluation in the Hawaiian Islands Yalemar JA, Nagamine WT, Bautista RC, Cho DY, Nakahara LM, Ramadan MM Life (Basel) 15-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11051351
doi:10.3390/life14040509
PMID:38672779
Habitat modifies the relationship between grass and herbivore species richness in a South African savanna Čuda J, Pyšková K, Hejda M, Foxcroft LC, MacFadyen S, Storch D, Tropek R, Zambatis G, Pyšek P Ecol Evol 15-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11016939
doi:10.1002/ece3.11167
PMID:38623521
Effect of Brosimum alicastrum Foliage on Intake, Kinetics of Fermentation and Passage and Microbial N Supply in Sheep Fed Megathyrsus maximus Hay Valdivia-Salgado V, Flores-Santiago ED, Ramírez-Avilés L, Segura-Correa JC, Calzada-Marín JM, Ku-Vera JC Animals (Basel) 09-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11047426
doi:10.3390/ani14081144
PMID:38672290
The Effect of Genome Parametrization and SNP Marker Subsetting on Genomic Selection in Autotetraploid Alfalfa Nazzicari N, Franguelli N, Ferrari B, Pecetti L, Annicchiarico P Genes (Basel) 02-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11050091
doi:10.3390/genes15040449
PMID:38674384
Typology and characterization of the agricultural productive units in the NE Amazonian region of Ecuador Peralta AV, Rivera SA, Tobar-Ruiz MG, Sánchez-Salazar ME, Oscullo PD, Ñuste LF J Adv Vet Anim Res 31-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC11055592
doi:10.5455/javar.2024.k762
PMID:38680805
Integrated crop-livestock effects on soil carbon sequestration in Benin, West Africa Idrissou Y, Vall E, Blanfort V, Blanchard M, Alkoiret Traoré I, Lecomte P Heliyon 25-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC11000009
doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28748
PMID:38590839
polyGBLUP: a modified genomic best linear unbiased prediction improved the genomic prediction efficiency for autopolyploid species Song H, Zhang Q, Hu H Brief Bioinform 19-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10959164
doi:10.1093/bib/bbae106
PMID:38517695
Invasive‐dominated grasslands in Hawaiʻi are resilient to disturbance Yelenik S, Rose E, Cordell S Ecol Evol 19-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10951494
doi:10.1002/ece3.10948
PMID:38510540
Local knowledge of homegarden plants in Miao ethnic communities in Laershan region, Xiangxi area, China Luo J, Li Q, He J, Yan J, Zhang S, Chang X, Wu T J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 18-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10946099
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00676-x
PMID:38500123
Machine learning prediction of multiple anthelmintic resistance and gastrointestinal nematode control in sheep flocks Niciura SC, Sanches GM Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 18-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10954252
doi:10.1590/S1984-29612024014
PMID:38511818

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