Botanical Name: Agropyron repens

Common Name:

English: Dog Grass
Also, known As: Agropyron, Quackgrass, Quack Grass, Quick GrassTriticum, Twitch, Twitchgrass, Quecke, Chiendent, Grama, Caprinella, Cutch, Durfa Grass, stargrass,Triticum, Twitch-grass, Witch Grass,Agropyron, Couch-Grass, Cutch, Dog-grass, Durfa Grass, Witch Grass, Bermudagrass, Ban Gen Cao, Pa Gen Cao, Pu Di Cao, Chien-dent. Pied-de-poule, Bai Mu Da

Origin: Hungary

Part used: Rhizome

General Information:

Couch grass is a tough perennial grass with creeping underground shoots that pop up in lawns, beds, and borders. Because of creeping rhizomes which enable it to grow rapidly across grassland. It has flat, hairy leaves with upright flower spikes. The stems grow to 50–125 cm tall; the leaves are linear, 10–35 cm long and 1–5 mm broad at the base of the plant, with leaves higher on the stems 2–10 mm broad. The flower spike is 5–25 cm long, with spikelets around 2 cm long, 7 mm broad and 3 mm thick with three to eight florets. The glumes are 7–10 mm long, usually without an awn or with only a short one.

The rhizomes are usually yellowish-white, sharp-pointed, somewhat fleshy and up to 3 m long. The auricles clasp the stem, which helps to immediately distinguish it from most other grass weeds. Couch grass or twitch grass is an old enemy for many gardeners. The leaf blades are soft and relatively flat, slightly soft-hairy, dull and mostly dark green, sometimes Glaucous, 6 - 30 cm long and 3 - 15 mm wide.

Couch grass has been used in herbal medicine since classical Greek times. The common name of dog grass comes from the fact that sick dogs will dig up the root and eat it.

How to use:

Hot Infusion:

The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup or teapot. Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. Hot water is needed to draw out the antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, flavonoids, and volatile oils from the botanicals. Strain and squeeze out as much as liquid as possible and enjoy!

Tips:

You can sweeten your herbal tea with a bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder and or licorice root powder.
You can make ice cubes or pops by freezing tea in ice trays or pop molds.

Precautions:

You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

All information on this website is for educational purpose ONLY

This information has not been evaluated by Health Canada.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Couch Grass Cut