Echinochloa polystachya, the German grass, is a species of grass (family Poaceae), native to the New World Tropics and Subtropics, from Texas and Florida down to Argentina.[2] It is an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial that can grow in water as deep as 2 m (7 ft).[3] It is a useful fodder for water buffaloes, and to a lesser extent, cattle.[3] In the Amazon floodplain it can reach productivity levels of 99.6 t/ha (39.7 long ton/acre; 44.4 short ton/acre) in dry mass, one of the highest levels ever measured in natural vegetation.[4][5] Given that it occupies about 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) of territory during the rainy season, it contributes on the order of 1% of the primary productivity of the planet.[6]
Echinochloa polystachya, the German grass, is a species of grass (family Poaceae), native to the New World Tropics and Subtropics, from Texas and Florida down to Argentina. It is an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial that can grow in water as deep as 2 m (7 ft). It is a useful fodder for water buffaloes, and to a lesser extent, cattle. In the Amazon floodplain it can reach productivity levels of 99.6 t/ha (39.7 long ton/acre; 44.4 short ton/acre) in dry mass, one of the highest levels ever measured in natural vegetation. Given that it occupies about 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) of territory during the rainy season, it contributes on the order of 1% of the primary productivity of the planet.
