Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world.[ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 1049–1050 in Latin] Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.[ Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 552 蒺藜草属 ji li cao shu Cenchrus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1049. 1753. ][ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Cenchrus includes photos and range maps for several species]
Common names include buffelgrasses, sandburs, and sand spur. Such names allude to the sharp, spine-covered characterizing the inflorescences of the members of the genus.[ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. 606–07.] are known commonly as fountaingrasses ( fountain grasses).[ Pennisetum. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).][ Pennisetum. The Jepson eFlora 2013.][ Pennisetum. USDA PLANTS.][ Identified gaps for Pennisetum genepool. Crop Wild Relatives. CIAT.]
Taxonomy
Pennisetum
Pennisetum is a former genus that heavily overlaps with Cenchrus,[Martel, E., et al. (2004). Chromosome evolution of Pennisetum species (Poaceae): implications of ITS phylogeny. Plant Systematics and Evolution 249(3–4), 139–49.] and the boundary between them has been unclear.[Wipff, J. K. Pennisetum Rich. The Grass Manual. Flora of North America.] Cenchrus was derived from Pennisetum and the two are grouped in a monophyly clade.[Ozias-Akins, P., et al. (2003). Molecular characterization of the genomic region linked with apomixis in Pennisetum/ Cenchrus. Functional & Integrative Genomics, 3(3), 94–104.] 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.[Chemisquy, M. A., et al. (2010). Phylogenetic studies favour the unification of Pennisetum, Cenchrus and Odontelytrum (Poaceae): a combined nuclear, plastid and morphological analysis, and nomenclatural combinations in Cenchrus. Annals of Botany 106(1), 107–30.] The genus is currently not accepted as separate from Cenchrus in Kew's Plants of the World Online database.[
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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.[ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
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").][
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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 , 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 , such as the chestnut-breasted mannikin ( Lonchura castaneothorax), the caterpillar of the butterfly Melanitis phedima, and the of the fly genus Delia.
The genus is a host of the plant pathogen fungus Cochliobolus sativus.
Species
107 species are currently accepted.[ They include:][ The Plant List search for Cenchrus]
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Cenchrus abyssinicus (Hack.) Morrone – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Yemen, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
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Cenchrus agrimonioides Trin. – kāmanomano – Hawaiian Islands
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Cenchrus alopecuroides
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Cenchrus americanus
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Cenchrus annuus
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Cenchrus arnhemicus (F.Muell.) Morrone – Australia (Western Australia and Northern Territory)
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Cenchrus articularis
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Cenchrus basedowii
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Cenchrus beckeroides
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Cenchrus biflorus Roxb. – kram-kram – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Madagascar
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Cenchrus brevisetosus (B.K.Simon) B.K.Simon – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland)
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Cenchrus brownii Roem. & Schult. – North America, South America, and West Indies
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Cenchrus cafer
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Cenchrus caliculatus Cav. – Australia, New Zealand, and assorted islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans
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Cenchrus caudatus
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Cenchrus chilensis
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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,
[Henry DR Pasture plants of Southern Inland Queensland. DPI. 1995] Southeast Asia, and various islands; considered noxious weed in some places
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Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone
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Cenchrus complanatus
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Cenchrus × cupreus
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Cenchrus distachyus
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Cenchrus distichophyllus Griseb. – Cuba
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Cenchrus divisus
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Cenchrus domingensis
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Cenchrus durus
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Cenchrus echinatus L. – common sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies; naturalized in parts of Africa, southern Asia, and various islands
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Cenchrus elegans (Hassk.) Veldkamp – Malesia
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Cenchrus elymoides F.Muell. – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland)
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Cenchrus exiguus
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Cenchrus flaccidus
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Cenchrus flexilis
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Cenchrus foermerianus
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Cenchrus geniculatus
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Cenchrus glaucifolius
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Cenchrus gracilescens
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Cenchrus gracillimus Nash – West Indies and southeastern USA
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Cenchrus henryanus
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Cenchrus hohenackeri
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Cenchrus hordeoides
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Cenchrus intectus
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Cenchrus lanatus
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Cenchrus latifolius
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Cenchrus laxius
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Cenchrus ledermannii
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Cenchrus longisetus
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Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fern. – mat sandbur – Canada, USA, and Mexico
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Cenchrus longissimus
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Cenchrus × longistylus
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Cenchrus massaicus
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Cenchrus mezianus
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Cenchrus michoacanus
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Cenchrus mitis Andersson – Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique
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Cenchrus monostigma
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Cenchrus multiflorus J.Presl – Mexico, Central America
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Cenchrus mutilatus
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Cenchrus myosuroides Kunth – North America, South America, and West Indies
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Cenchrus nanus
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Cenchrus nervosus
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Cenchrus nodiflorus
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Cenchrus nubicus
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Cenchrus occidentalis
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Cenchrus orientalis
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Cenchrus palmeri Vasey – Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Arizona
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Cenchrus pennisetiformis Steud. – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Subcontinent
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Cenchrus peruvianus
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Cenchrus petiolaris
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Cenchrus pilcomayensis
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Cenchrus pilosus Kunth – central Mexico to northern Chile
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Cenchrus pirottae
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Cenchrus platyacanthus Andersson – Galápagos
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Cenchrus prieurii (Kunth) Maire – Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Myanmar
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Cenchrus preslii
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Cenchrus procerus
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Cenchrus prolificus
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Cenchrus pseudotriticoides
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Cenchrus pumilus
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Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone – Africa and Oman
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Cenchrus qianningensis
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Cenchrus ramosus
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Cenchrus rigidus
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Cenchrus riparius
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Cenchrus robustus R.D.Webster – Queensland and New South Wales
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Cenchrus rupestris
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Cenchrus sagittatus
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Cenchrus schweinfurthii
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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
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Cenchrus setiger Vahl – Sahara, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
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Cenchrus shaanxiensis
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Cenchrus sichuanensis
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Cenchrus sieberianus
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Cenchrus somalensis Clayton – Somalia
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Cenchrus sphacelatus
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Cenchrus spinifex Cav. – coastal sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
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Cenchrus squamulatus
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Cenchrus stramineus
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Cenchrus tempisquensis
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Cenchrus thulinii
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Cenchrus trachyphyllus
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Cenchrus tribuloides L. – sanddune sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
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Cenchrus trisetus
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Cenchrus tristachyus
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Cenchrus uliginosus
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Cenchrus unisetus
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Cenchrus violaceus
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Cenchrus weberbaueri
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Cenchrus yemensis
- 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
Further reading
External links
