A low, wiry creeping grass that forms dense mats, among the most widespread lawn and pasture grasses in the world.
Bermuda grass or couch grass (Cynodon dactylon, family Poaceae) is a low, evergreen perennial grass that creeps along the ground, rooting at every joint and quickly forming a dense mat, with upright stems usually 5 to 45 cm tall. It is used for food occasionally, in many medicines, and above all as an excellent lawn grass and ground cover in the tropics and to prevent soil erosion. It can make livestock sensitive to sunlight and in some conditions produces hydrocyanic acid, so it is potentially toxic to animals, and its abundant pollen is a major cause of hay fever.
Originally from Africa and southern Asia, it is now naturalised in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world, along roadsides, in rocky or sandy places and on the upper parts of beaches, up to 2,270 metres. It grows best where mean daily temperatures are above 24°C and rainfall is 600 to 1,800 mm a year, but it survives frost through its rhizomes. It needs sun, is deep-rooted and drought tolerant, grows on poor soils and tolerates long flooding. It spreads fast, is hard to eradicate and is a serious weed of maize, cotton, sugar cane and plantation crops. It is most easily propagated from rooted pieces, which establish quickly when planted.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
Used in traditional medicine as a diuretic and for wound-healing; leaf juice is applied to cuts and stings.
Grazed extensively as pasture and cut for hay.
Spreads by both seed and creeping stems (stolons); highly drought- and trample-tolerant.