01 - CAPIM RABO-DE-BURRO Schizachyrium condensatum (Kunth) Nees (POACEAE)
01 - Capim rabo de burro - Schizachyrium condensatum (Kunth) Nees (POACEAE)
Perennial plant, 0.35 - 1.1 m in height, stems erect, with no branches in the upper nodes. Leaves 3-25 × 0.2 - 0.8 cm, with or without hair on both sides. Inflorescence up to 45 cm high, with many flowering branches, with spikelets of abundant hair, giving the appearance of plumes, or as the popular name suggests resembling a donkey tail.
This is not a plant that we associate with the city. Visually transports us to the field, where we are supposed to have a healthier life. Or at least greater contact with what we called nature. Perhaps a good start for thinking about nature is to remember to respect our biology, which in urban life can be an important differential. This plant can be a good reminder of that.
Distribution: Native throughout tropical and subtropical America, occurring in groups in savannahs and dry fields with sandy or stony soils, and in altered locations.
Situation in São Paulo: Present in some vacant lots and on the edges of highways, forming dense massifs where it becomes the predominant species. It was what I saw on a large abandoned lot on the Anhanguera Highway, which functioned as a truck parking lot and had part of the paved land. The grasses grew over the asphalt, demonstrating that if the city were abandoned it would be covered by vegetation in a few years.
How to plant: It is easily multiplied by seeds, which are produced almost all year round as well as by clump division. When transplanting it, we recommend that you remove the entire root ball and dig a double hole, fluffing the soil. Keep the largest portion of the leaves around and, if necessary, add others to protect the plant's collar, maintaining the necessary humidity for it to re-establish itself.
Uses: Used in restoration projects, mainly in footpaths and humid fields, due to its capacity for good coverage and soil stabilization, as well as for ornamentation of gardens, although most landscapers prefer to use exotic texas grass.
LONGHI-WAGNER, HM ET AL. FANEROGAMIC FLORA OF THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO. VOL. 1. POEACEAE. FAPESP / HUCITEC, SÃO PAULO, 2001.
Capins-rabo-de-burro, no Cerrado Infinito da Nascente.
First 'Rabo de burro' grasses planted by humans in São Paulo !!! Culturally, this grass is a pest and has always been eliminated. Everyone thinks so, gardeners, landscapers, gardeners, ranchers, etc. It is still ironic to be able to convince people to pick up the hoe to plant them.
It was one of the first species we introduced, right at the beginning of the project. After a few weeks, already adapted, someone set the grasses on fire, a message that it would not be easy to change the culture on them.
With the rains the grasses recovered quickly, soon they produced seeds and started to grow everywhere.
In the beginning, city gardeners were a threat, there was already a history of conflicts with other planting initiatives in the square. They cut everything between 5 cm and the top of the trees, but soon understood what it was about. Many had come from rural areas, from Bahia, from the Northeast and knew the plants. Perhaps the homesickness of the original landscape helped them to understand the proposal. They started to preserve the plants of the Cerrado Infinito.
O capim rabo-de-burro é uma espécie que gosta de água, e recorrente na beira de lagoas, e várzea dos rios.
Coletando sementes de capim Rabo de Burro, não tem segredo, terrinha, sol, e uma boa irrigação, e BUM! Você terá centenas de mudas!
Coletando sementes de capim Rabo de Burro, não tem segredo, terrinha, sol, e uma boa irrigação, e BUM! Você terá centenas de mudas!