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Kans Grass
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Kans Grass
ative Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Kans grass • Hindi: कांस Kaans • Manipuri: ꯢ Ee • Tamil: Pekkarimpu • Telugu: Kaki ceruku • Marathi: Kamis • Nepali: काँस Kaans • Bengali: Kansh • Kannada: ಕಾಡುಕಬ್ಬು Kaadu kabbu, ಹುಚ್ಚುಕಬ್ಬು Hucchu kabbu, ತೇಜನಕ Tejanaka • Malayalam: Nannana • Gujarati: Kansado
Botanical name: Saccharum spontaneum      Family: Poaceae (Grass family)

Kans grass is a grass native to South Asia. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots. Leaves are harsh and linear, 0.5 to 1 meter long; 6 to 15 mm wide. Inflorescence are plumose panicles, which are white and erect, measuring 15-30 cm long, with slender and whorled branches, the joints covered with soft white hair. In the Terai region, Kans grass quickly colonises exposed silt plains created each year by the retreating monsoon floods, forming almost pure stands on the lowest portions of the floodplain. Kans grasslands are an important habitat for the Indian Rhinoceros. The reeds are made into mats, screens, and thatch roofs. It is also found in the Himalayas, at altitudes of 200-1700 m.

Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in Delhi & Imphal, Manipur.

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