In this article we will tell you about types of weeds in Nigeria, their uses and other interesting facts about them. We can see weeds everywhere. These are the wild plants that grow in different parts of the world and are used as agricultural land. And some of them can grow in tropical regions.
Let’s look through what would we use weeds plants for:
- for the benefit of plants and microbes giving them nutrient and water;
- for breaking up soil compaction and hard-pan as well as combat erosion;
- plants increase the level of organic substances during their growing and dying;
- they can also be as an indicator of nutritional balance of the soil, farmers can determine this due to growth pattern and general condition;
- it serves as grazing animals feed.
Types of weeds in Nigeria
And we will now tell you about types of weeds and their botanical name. Let’s start!
Elephant grass
Botanical name – Pennisetum purpureum
It’s also called Uganda grass or Napier grass. As this weeds were adapted to tropical lands, it has small requirements in water and nutritive components. It was used for grazing animals in the old days. Now Elephant grass serves as “fighter” against pest. The grass is planted next to cultivated plants.
Elephant grass helps to protect maize from the moths. It’s also useful because of its properties to protect the soil from erosion. It improves the soil productivity. Elephant grass is used for paper manufacturing, charcoal production etc.
Carpet grass
Botanical name – Axonopus compressus)
It’s a coarse-leaved plant. Generally, the best conditions for Carpet grass is a wet soil, differently from the other types of weeds plants. In addition, this plant is not very shade-resistant. The grass is the best for fighting erosion. Another characteristic of Carpet grass is its property to grow in low fertility soils.
It’s also used for grazing animals feed. The interesting fact is that Carpet grass can crowd out other types of weeds. Sometimes it’s used for decoration in parks, airports and so on.
African Club Moss
Botanical name – Selaginella kraussiana (or just Selaginella)
The homeland of this plant is tropical and Southern Africa. It’s a not very big plant with long roots. This type of weeds can grow in different conditions: resistant to cold, hot weather or deep shade. Interestingly, that the grass doesn’t need a moisture. In addition, it’s generally found on wet soil and looks very well.
African Feather Grass
Botanical name – Cenchrus macrourus
It’s also called bedding or veld grass. This is a perennial plant that has deep fibrous roots. Moreover, the grass has beautiful tough and ribbed leaves. Their top is light green and the underneath has dark green color.
The specific structure of African Feather Grass stems cause skin irritation when touching. The plant can grow on any type of the soil and resistant to hot, cold, rainy or windy weather. It’s good for grazing animal feed.
African Olive
Botanical name – Olea europeaea
It refers to the family Oleaceae or the Olive family. The plant appeared in Europe but then has begun to grow in Africa. It’s a dense brush or small tree that has scaly stems and rough bark. This plant can make a lot of long-lived seeds.
It’s commonly found in shrubland or empty lands, increasingly in coastal areas.
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