About Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.) S.T.Blake
Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.) S.T.Blake has a range of common names, including Australian bluestem, Caucasian bluestem, forest-bluegrass, plains bluestem, and purple plume grass. It is a Neotropic grass species belonging to the grass family Poaceae, and it grows primarily in tropical Africa, tropical and temperate Asia, and Australia. Its type specimen was collected from China by Finnish botanist Peter Johan Bladh, and the species specific epithet bladhii was chosen to honor Bladh. Its native distribution spans Africa from Senegal and Ethiopia southward to South Africa, the Middle East, most of temperate and tropical southern and eastern Asia, Malesia, and Australia. It has also become naturalized in other parts of the Neotropics. This species has several practical uses: it is stored as feed for local livestock, grazed on by both domestic livestock and wild ruminants, and is sometimes planted to revegetate and restore disturbed land.
