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GENERAL
Origin
:
sub-tropical
Humidity
:
very arid, semi-
arid
Propagation :
sowing and
pricking out
Maintenance :
low
CONDITIONS
Urban climate :
resistant
Dessication :
resistant
Stagnant water :
vulnerable
Irrigation
:
low, none
Salinity/ppm :
high (3500 ppm)
Hardiness
:
-6°C
SHAPE
Type
:
perennial
Height
:
0.3 m-1 m
Spread
:
0.4 m-1.2 m
Foliage
:
evergreen
FLOWER
Colour
:
white
Size
:
14 cm
Period
:
March - June
FRUIT
Type of fruit :
caryopsis
Fruit size
:
0.3 cm
Lasiurus, or Sewan Grass (daah in Arabic), is a perennial, bushy desert grass that grows between
30 and 60 cm high. In good conditions, it reaches a height of 90 to 100 cm. It is distributed in the
Arabian peninsula, and is indigenous to the Arriyadh region as well as in North Africa, India
and Pakistan. The linear leaves are silver-green-yellow, and the flowers appear in early summer
in 10–14-cm long and 1-cm-broad silver-silky spikes. This grass has deep roots and prefers a
non-alkaline sandy soil. Propagation is done by sowing and pricking out. L. hirsutus is highly
drought-tolerant, and withstands hot winds. Fertilisation is not necessary. All of these attributes
make it a very useful plant for landscape design in and around Arriyadh. With its attractive spiky
flowers and its compact growth, pleasing compositions can be created. L. hirsutus can be planted
in open country as a coloniser, slope stabiliser for hillside plantation or for environmental impro-
vement. Even for cultivated urban areas, however, it may be used in planting schemes for public
open spaces, parks, street planting, car parks, pedestrian precincts and containers, as well as in
private gardens. Native grasses should be planted more in landscape design, because they are very
well adapted to desert conditions. In masses or planted in groups, the attractive effect of a wavy
sea is created when the wind blows through them.
184
Lasiurus scindicus,
Poaceae
Sewan Grass,
daah