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Wikipedia / Polypogon

Polypogon is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, commonly known beard grass or rabbitsfoot grass.

Description

Polypogon species vary in appearance; some are erect, while others drape over the ground in waves. Many have soft, fluffy inflorescences that look like rabbit's foot amulets.

Some are introduced species established outside their native ranges. Some of those are considered invasive species and noxious weeds, most notably Polypogon monspeliensis, the annual beard grass.

  1. Species

  2. Polypogon × adscendens Guss. - Italy

  3. Polypogon australis Brongn. - Argentina, Chile incl Juan Fernández Islands

  4. Polypogon chilensis (Kunth) Pilg. - Argentina, Chile incl Juan Fernández Islands, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil

  5. Polypogon elongatus Kunth - USA (CA AZ CO TX), much of Mesoamerica + South America

  6. Polypogon exasperatus (Trin.) Renvoize - Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, southern Brazil

  7. Polypogon fugax Nees ex Steud. - China, Japan, Korea, central + southwestern Asia, Ethiopia, Somalia

  8. Polypogon griquensis (Stapf) Gibbs Russ. & Fish - Namibia, South Africa

  9. Polypogon hissaricus (Roshev.) Bor - Xinjiang, Central Asia, Pakistan, Iran, Himalayas

  10. Polypogon imberbis (Phil.) Johow - Argentina, Chile incl Juan Fernández Islands, Uruguay, southern Brazil

  11. Polypogon interruptus Kunth - British Columbia, western United States (WA to CA + TX), Mexico, south America

  12. Polypogon ivanovae Tzvelev - Xinjiang

  13. Polypogon linearis Trin. - Chile

  14. Polypogon maritimus Willd. - wetlands in Asia, Mediterranean

  15. Polypogon mollis (Thouars) C.E.Hubb. & E.W.Groves - Tristan da Cunha

  16. Polypogon monspeliensis (L.) Desf. - Africa, Eurasia; widely naturalized in North America

  17. Polypogon nilgiricus Kabeer & V.J.Nair - India

  18. Polypogon parvulus Roseng., B.R.Arrill. & Izag. - Uruguay, Argentina

  19. Polypogon pygmeus Tzvelev - Afghanistan

  20. Polypogon schimperianus (Hochst. ex Steud.) Cope - from Ethiopia + Saudi Arabia to Zimbabwe

  21. Polypogon tenellus R.Br. - South Australia, Western Australia

  22. Polypogon tenuis Brongn. - Ascension Island, St. Helena, Namibia, Cape Province

  23. Polypogon viridis (Gouan) Breistr. - central + southwestern Asia, Mediterranean

  24. Formerly included

Numerous species now regarded as better suited to other genera: Agrostis, Alopecurus, Brachypodium, Chaetium, Gymnopogon, Muhlenbergia, Pentameris, Reynaudia, and Triniochloa.

Phytoremediation

Polypogon monspeliensis was investigated for its mercury-accumulating properties as a phytoremediation plant. A U.S. NIS—National Institutes of Health-funded study showed the plant to take up 110 times more mercury (HgS) than control plant species. This mercury hyperaccumulator sequesters the toxin in its roots in an insoluble form, reducing exposure to ecological receptors in situ and in erosion sediments.

References