A robust, tufted perennial grass native to Africa and now widely planted as pasture across the tropics.
Palisade signal grass (Brachiaria brizantha, now often called Urochloa brizantha, family Poaceae) is an evergreen perennial grass with clusters of stout, upright stems 55 to 200 cm tall growing from a creeping rootstock. It is used as ground cover in tree plantations and to hold the soil. When it is the main feed of sheep and goats it has caused sensitivity to sunlight in them, though in Brazil, where it is widely used for pasture, no such effect has been seen in cattle.
It grows from the Gambia to Eritrea and Somalia and south to South Africa, Madagascar and the Seychelles, and in Yemen, on roadsides and coral sand, in grassy valleys and open woodland, up to 3,000 metres. It is found wild mainly in the wetter tropics and can withstand a dry season of up to five months, growing best at 25 to 35°C with 750 to 2,500 mm of rain a year. It prefers sun but tolerates light to moderate shade, grows on many soils, including sandy and acid ones, but not on poorly drained ground, and is fairly drought-resistant. Most forms do not tolerate fire well, and some varieties, such as 'Marandu', resist spittlebug pests.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
An important forage grass, grazed directly or cut for hay and silage; valued for high productivity and drought tolerance.
Propagated by seed; forms dense tufted swards used in permanent pasture and for erosion control.