Napier grass

Japanese: ネピアグラス（英語表記）napier grass

A perennial grass of the grass family cultivated in warm regions for livestock feed. It is also called elephant grass. Native to tropical Africa, it was cultivated as a crop in the early 20th century and introduced to Japan in the early Showa period. It grows to a height of 2-5m and a stem diameter of 2-3cm. It produces many creeping stems that grow into a magnificent clump with a diameter of 1m and over 100 stems. It has long and slender leaves, and the larger ones can be over 1m long and about 3cm wide. In autumn, it produces a panicle from the top of the stem. The panicle is cylindrical, 10-30cm long, and has 1cm-long bristles.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

家畜の飼料とするために暖地で栽培されるイネ科の多年草。エレファントグラスelephant grassともいう。熱帯アフリカ原産で，20世紀初めに作物化され，日本には昭和初期に導入された。草丈は2～5m，茎の太さ2～3cmとなる。匍匐（ほふく）性の茎を多数分げつし，直径1m，茎数100を超す壮大な株状になる。葉は細長く，大きなものでは長さ1mを超し，幅も3cmほどになる。秋に茎頂から穂を出す。穂は円筒状で10～30cm，1cmほどの剛毛がある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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