to make inferior pastures,[citation needed] but seeds of at least some species are edible and nutritious; they were used as food, for example, by the Chiricahua Apaches.

Other species are reported to be used as famine foods, such as Sporobolus indicus in parts of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, where it is known as muriy in Oromiffa.

[13] The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that Sporobolus actinocladus is a "Perennial; seeds in October and November.

A much esteemed pasture grass of the back country, common on rich loamy soil; stock of all kinds are very fond of it.

[16] Numerous species have been moved from Sporobolus to other genera: Agrostis, Arctagrostis, Eragrostis, Mosdenia, Muhlenbergia, Poa, Sacciolepis, Thysanolaena, and Urochondra.