Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica)

Family: Poaceae or Gramineae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Form: Upright or erect.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Shoots, Roots/Tubers, Flowers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

pleasant to chew, containing starch and sugar. — Young inflorescence and young shoots - cooked.; Root - fibrous but pleasant to chew, containing starch and sugar.; Fairly sweet, the taste is sweetest in the wet season in Australia and worst from plants growing in sand.; The ash of the plant is used as a salt substitute.

Habitat & North American Range

Open sandy habitats, usually by a river or the sea shore in Europe. Commonly found on impoverished soils in Australia. (Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)