Hemarthria altissima

Hemarthria altissima
Close-up of specimen
Patches of Hemarthria altissima in a pasture in Hawaii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Hemarthria
Species:
H. altissima
Binomial name
Hemarthria altissima
Synonyms
List
    • Andropogon altissimus (Poir.) Raspail
    • Andropogon fasciculatus Raspail
    • Hemarthria capensis Trin.
    • Hemarthria caudiculata Steud.
    • Hemarthria compressa var. fasciculata (Hack.) Keng
    • Hemarthria fasciculata Kunth
    • Hemarthria guyanensis Steud.
    • Lepturus fasciculatus Trin.
    • Lodicularia capensis (Trin.) Nees
    • Lodicularia fasciculata P.Beauv.
    • Manisuris altissima (Poir.) Hitchc.
    • Manisuris fasciculata (Hack.) Hitchc.
    • Rottboellia altissima Poir.
    • Rottboellia articulata Thunb. ex Roem. & Schult.
    • Rottboellia fasciculata Lam.
    • Rottboellia heterochroa Gand.
    • Rottboellia spathacea Ten.

Hemarthria altissima, variously called limpo grass, limpograss, halt grass, Batavian quick grass, swamp couch grass, red swamp grass and red vleigrass, is a species of flowering plant in the jointgrass genus Hemarthria, family Poaceae. It is native to the Old World Tropics and Subtropics; Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, eastern China, and Borneo, and widely introduced as a forage in the New World, from Texas and Florida south to northern Argentina. In addition to being a valued forage for livestock, it makes a good, fragrant silage. A number of cultivars are commercially available.