Andropogon canaliculatus is native of tropical Africa. It has been observed in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo), Central Africa (Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Congo (Kinshasa)), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda) and Southern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe) (Kew Science, 2020; Guérin et al., 1988; Kouassi et al., 2014; Fleischer et al., 1998; Dougall et al., 1960; Atanga et al., 2013).
It grows mainly in moist and swampy places, notably seasonal ones, at altitudes ranging from 0 to 2300 m (Kew Science, 2020; Dougall et al., 1960). It can be found in association of either Vetiveria fulvibarbis-Brachiaria falcifera on sandy soils or with Sporulus pyramidalis-Heteropogon contortus on clayey soils (Fleischer et al., 1996). It can grow on poor quality soils like those of the Plains of Accra in Ghana (shallow sandy and loamy soils deficient in organic matters and in plant nutrient) (Marchot et al., 1989). In Ethiopia, Andropogon canaliculatus is among the grasses and herbs that have been negatively impacted by the invasion of Prosopis juliflora, which reduces the productivity of rangelands (Mehari, 2015; Angassa, 2018).
