Wikipedia / Cenchrus
Wikipedia / Cenchrus
Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Common names include buffelgrasses, sandburs, and sand spur. Such names allude to the sharp, spine-covered burrs characterizing the inflorescences of the members of the genus. Those previously classified as Pennisetum are known commonly as fountaingrasses (fountain grasses).
Taxonomy
Pennisetum
Pennisetum is a former genus that heavily overlaps with Cenchrus, and the boundary between them has been unclear. Cenchrus was derived from Pennisetum and the two are grouped in a monophyletic clade. A main morphological character that has been used to distinguish them is the degree of fusion of the bristles in the inflorescence, but this is often unreliable. In 2010, researchers proposed to transfer Pennisetum into Cenchrus, along with the related genus Odontelytrum. The genus is currently not accepted as separate from Cenchrus in Kew's Plants of the World Online database.
Distribution
The various species are native to Africa, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, with some of them widely naturalized in Europe and North America, as well as on various oceanic islands.
Description
They are annual or perennial grasses. Some are petite while others can produce stems up to 8 meters tall. The inflorescence is a very dense, narrow panicle containing fascicles of spikelets interspersed with bristles. There are three kinds of bristle, and some species have all three, while others do not. Some bristles are coated in hairs, sometimes long, showy, plumelike hairs that inspired the genus name, the Latin penna ("feather") and seta ("bristle").
Uses
The genus includes pearl millet (P. glaucum), an important food crop. Napier grass (P. purpureum) is used for grazing livestock in Africa.
Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants, notably P. advena, P. alopecuroides, P. orientale, P. setaceum, and P. villosum. The cultivar 'Fairy Tails' is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Ecology
Many Pennisetum grasses are noxious weeds, including feathertop grass (P. villosum) and kikuyu grass (P. clandestinum), which is also a popular and hardy turf grass in some parts of the world.
The herbage and seeds of these grasses are food for herbivores, such as the chestnut-breasted mannikin (Lonchura castaneothorax), the caterpillar of the butterfly Melanitis phedima, and the larvae of the fly genus Delia.
The genus is a host of the pathogenic fungus Cochliobolus sativus.
Species
108 species are currently accepted. They include:
Cenchrus abyssinicus (Hack.) Morrone – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Yemen, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
Cenchrus agrimonioides Trin. kāmanomano – Hawaiian Islands
Cenchrus arnhemicus (F.Muell.) Morrone – Australia (Western Australia and Northern Territory)
Cenchrus biflorus Roxb. kram-kram – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Madagascar
Cenchrus brevisetosus (B.K.Simon) B.K.Simon – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland)
Cenchrus brownii Roem. & Schult. – North America, South America, and West Indies
Cenchrus caliculatus Cav. – Australia, New Zealand, and assorted islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans
Cenchrus ciliaris L. buffelgrass – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Sicily; naturalized as a nutritious arid pasture lands in parts of North and South America, Australia, Southeast Asia, and various islands; considered noxious weed in some places
Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone
Cenchrus distichophyllus Griseb. – Cuba
Cenchrus echinatus L. common sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies; naturalized in parts of Africa, southern Asia, and various islands
Cenchrus elegans (Hassk.) Veldkamp – Malesia
Cenchrus elymoides F.Muell. – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland)
Cenchrus gracillimus Nash – West Indies and southeastern USA
Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fern. mat sandbur – Canada, USA, and Mexico
Cenchrus mitis Andersson – Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique
Cenchrus multiflorus J.Presl – Mexico, Central America
Cenchrus myosuroides Kunth – North America, South America, and West Indies
Cenchrus palmeri Vasey – Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Arizona
Cenchrus pennisetiformis Steud. – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Subcontinent
Cenchrus pilosus Kunth – central Mexico to northern Chile
Cenchrus platyacanthus Andersson – Galápagos
Cenchrus prieurii (Kunth) Maire – Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Myanmar
Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone – Africa and Oman
Cenchrus robustus R.D.Webster – Queensland and New South Wales
Cenchrus setaceus – tender fountain grass, crimson fountaingrass – northern Africa and southwestern Asia; naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, and scattered places in Europe and the Americas
Cenchrus setiger Vahl – Sahara, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Cenchrus somalensis Clayton – Somalia
Cenchrus spinifex Cav. coastal sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
Cenchrus tribuloides L. sanddune sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
Formerly included
Several species are now considered better suited to other genera: Anthephora, Centotheca, Dactyloctenium, Echinaria, Echinolaena, Hackelochloa, Hilaria, Pennisetum, Phragmites, Scleria, Setaria, Trachys, Tragus, Tribolium.
See also
References
Further reading
External links