Quail Grass

Overview

Quail grass is native to tropical Africa, the plant has spread wherever humans have gone in the tropics and subtropics, both as a weed and as an escape from cultivation. It is one of the most promising leaf crops for cultivation in poor or variable growing conditions. It is sometimes cultivated in western tropical Africa, and a few other areas of the tropics, for its edible leaves. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant from the tropics to warm temperate areas.

Vernacular Names

Amarante crête de coq (French), Mirabel (Spanish), No-geitou (Japanese), Qing xiang (Chinese), Mao ga trang (Vietnamese), Sufaid murgha (India), Gaemaendeurami (Korean), and Boroco (Indonesia).

Agroecology

C. argentea is a plant of the tropics, able to be grown also in the subtropics and warm temperate zones. It can be grown at elevations up to 1,600 m. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25-30 °C, but can tolerate 20-40 °C. It can be killed by temperatures of 5 °C or lower. Prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500-2,500 mm. For best leaf production, the plant requires a fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil in a sunny sheltered position, though it is tolerant of a range of soil types. Prefers a pH in the range 6-6.5.

Morphology

• Stems - smooth, much branched, green or red.
• Leaves - alternate, linear to lanceolate, entire, 4-14 cm long
• Flowers - small, in dense erect spikes, 8 to 12 mm long, borne in solitary, erect, stout, dense, white, purple, or pink, glistening spikes, 3 to 30 cm long, 1.5 to 2 cm thick, without petals. Sepals are 6 mm long, and much longer than the bracts.
• Fruits - capsule ovoid or subglobose, 3–4 mm.
• Seeds - shining and black, about 1.5 mm in diameter.

Cultivation

• Generative propagation is by seeds.
• Sow in situ. Germination should take place within 5-7 days.

Chemical Constituents

Poliphenol, flavonoid betavulgarin, alkaloid, tannins, saponins, amino acid, cycpeptide moroidin, askorbic acid, glycoside, citrusin C.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

Medicinal Uses

• The flowers and seed are astringent, haemostatic, ophthalmic, parasiticide.
• The seed is hypotensive and ophthalmic. It also has an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of Pseudomonas. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, bloodshot eyes, blurring of vision, cataracts and hypertension, but should not be used by people with glaucoma because it dilates the pupils.

Traditional Uses

• The seeds are widely used in India for the treatment of diabetes
• The whole plant is used as an antidote for snakebites.
• The flowers are used in the treatment of bloody stool, haemorrhoid bleeding, uterine bleeding, leucorrhoea, dysentery and diarrhoea.
• A liquid extract from the leaves and flowers is used as a body wash for convalescents.The leaves are used in the treatment of infected sores, wounds and skin eruptions.
• The roots are used in the treatment of colic, gonorrhoea and eczema.