Cenchrus

{{Short description|Genus of grasses}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Cenchrus longispinus.jpg |image_caption = ''Cenchrus longispinus'' line drawing<ref>{{Cite PLANTS |symbol=CELO3 |taxon=Cenchrus longispinus |access-date=2024-11-08 |quote= Britton, N.L., and A. Brown, 1913, ''An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions''. 3 vols. Provided by Kentucky Native Plant Society, New York.}}</ref> |image2 = Cenchrus echinatus burr4 (6923220592).jpg |image2_caption = ''Cenchrus echinatus'' burr |display_parents = 4 |taxon = Cenchrus |authority = L. (1753)<ref name="GRIN">{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2228 |title=Genus: ''Cenchrus'' L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=9 March 1999 |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605224915/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2228 |archive-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |type_species_authority = L. |type_species = ''Cenchrus echinatus''<ref>lectotype designated by Green, Prop. Brit. Bot.: 193 (1929)</ref><ref name=s>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40003452 Tropicos, ''Cenchrus'' L.]</ref> |synonyms = * ''Amphochaeta'' {{small|Andersson (1855)}} * ''Beckeropsis'' {{small|Fig. & De Not. (1853)}} * ''Catatherophora'' {{small|Steud. (1829)}} * ''Cenchropsis'' Nash (1903) * ''Echinaria'' Fabr. (1759), rejected name not Desf. 1799 * ''Eriochaeta'' {{small|Fig. & De Not. (1853)}} * ''Gymnotrix'' {{small|P.Beauv. (1812)}} * ''Kikuyuochloa'' {{small|H.Scholz (2006)}} * ''Lloydia'' {{small|Delile (1844), nom. illeg.}} * ''Odontelytrum'' Hack. (1898) * ''Penicillaria'' {{small|Willd. (1809)}} * ''Pennisetum'' {{small|Rich. (1805)}} * ''Pseudochaetochloa'' Hitchc. (1924) * ''Raram'' Adans. (1763) * ''Runcina'' Allamand (1770) * ''Sericura'' {{small|Hassk. (1842)}} |synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo>[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30002698-2 ''Cenchrus'' L.] ''Plants of the World Online''. Retrieved 1 July 2023.</ref> }}

'''''Cenchrus''''' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world.<ref name=s/><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/359070#page/491/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 1049–1050] in Latin</ref> Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.<ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=106002 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 552 <big>蒺藜草属</big> ji li cao shu ''Cenchrus'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1049. 1753. ]</ref><ref>[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Cenchrus Altervista Flora Italiana, genere ''Cenchrus''] includes photos and range maps for several species</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shellkey.org/updates.asp |title=What is a Sandspur anyway? |publisher=shelkey.org|date=20 October 2008 |access-date=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816225320/http://www.shellkey.org/updates.asp |archive-date=16 August 2009 }}</ref> Those previously classified as '''''Pennisetum''''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɛ|n|ᵻ|ˈ|s|iː|t|əm}}<ref>''Sunset Western Garden Book.'' 1995. 606–07.</ref> are known commonly as '''fountaingrasses''' ('''fountain grasses''').<ref name=itis>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=42000 ''Pennisetum''.] Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).</ref><ref name=jeps>[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=11134 ''Pennisetum''.] The Jepson eFlora 2013.</ref><ref>[http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=PENNI ''Pennisetum''.] USDA PLANTS.</ref><ref>[http://gisweb.ciat.cgiar.org/GapAnalysis/?p=273 Identified gaps for ''Pennisetum'' genepool.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725220052/http://gisweb.ciat.cgiar.org/GapAnalysis/?p=273 |date=25 July 2011 }} Crop Wild Relatives. CIAT.</ref>

==Taxonomy== ===Pennisetum===

'''''Pennisetum''''' is a former genus that heavily overlaps with ''Cenchrus'',<ref name=mar>Martel, E., et al. (2004). [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00606-004-0191-6?LI=true#page-1 Chromosome evolution of ''Pennisetum'' species (Poaceae): implications of ITS phylogeny.] ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 249(3–4), 139–49.</ref> and the boundary between them has been unclear.<ref name=gm>Wipff, J. K. [http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/info2.asp?name=Pennisetum_glaucum+&type=treatment ''Pennisetum'' Rich.] The Grass Manual. Flora of North America.</ref> ''Cenchrus'' was derived from ''Pennisetum'' and the two are grouped in a monophyletic clade.<ref>Ozias-Akins, P., et al. (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130827235402/http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/33996/PDF Molecular characterization of the genomic region linked with apomixis in ''Pennisetum''/''Cenchrus''.] ''Functional & Integrative Genomics, 3(3)'', 94–104.</ref> 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''.<ref name=chem>Chemisquy, M. A., et al. (2010). [https://archive.today/20130827235402/http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/106/1/107.full 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.</ref> The genus is currently not accepted as separate from ''Cenchrus'' in Kew's Plants of the World Online database.<ref name = powo/>

==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.<ref name=wcsp>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=432566 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>

==Description== They are annual or perennial grasses. Some are petite while others can produce stems up to 8 meters tall.<ref name=gm/> 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").<ref name=gm/>

==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.<ref name=RHSPF>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/270958/i-Pennisetum-i-Fairy-Tails/Details |title=''Pennisetum'' 'Fairy Tails' |publisher=RHS |access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |title=AGM Plants – Ornamental |date=July 2017 |page=107 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref>

==Ecology== [[File:Pennisetum setaceum-Guinther.jpg|thumb|right|Invasive ''Cenchrus setaceus'' growing on a lava flow in Hawaii]]

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== [[File:Foxtail fountain grass.jpg|thumb|right|''Cenchrus alopecuroides'']] [[File:Pennisetum hohenackeri W IMG 4147.jpg|thumb|right|''Cenchrus hohenackeri'']] [[File:Pennisetum orientale.jpg|thumb|right|''Cenchrus orientalis'']] [[File:Pennisetum pedicellatum in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 1342.jpg|thumb|right|''Cenchrus pedicellatus'']] thumb|x165px|''Cenchrus alopecuroides'' 108 species are currently accepted.<ref name = powo/> They include:<ref name=aa>{{cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=451210|title=Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=40569 |taxon=''Cenchrus'' |accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="GRINSpecies">{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?2228 |title=GRIN Species Records of ''Cenchrus'' |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508032827/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?2228 |archive-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Cenchrus The Plant List search for Cenchrus]</ref> * ''Cenchrus abyssinicus'' (Hack.) Morrone – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Yemen, Limpopo, Mpumalanga * ''Cenchrus agrimonioides'' Trin. – ''kāmanomano'' – Hawaiian Islands * ''Cenchrus alopecuroides'' {{small|(L.) Thunb.}} * ''Cenchrus americanus'' {{small|(L.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus annuus'' {{small|(Mez) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus arnhemicus'' (F.Muell.) Morrone – Australia (Western Australia and Northern Territory) * ''Cenchrus articularis'' {{small|(Trin.) M.W.Tornab. & W.L.Wagner}} * ''Cenchrus basedowii'' {{small|(Summerh. & C.E.Hubb.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus beckeroides'' {{small|(Leeke) ined.}} * ''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 cafer'' {{small|(Bory) Veldkamp}} * ''Cenchrus caliculatus'' Cav. – Australia, New Zealand, and assorted islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans * ''Cenchrus caudatus'' {{small|(Schrad.) Kuntze}} * ''Cenchrus chilensis'' {{small|(É.Desv.) Morrone}} * ''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,<ref name="Henry_etal995">Henry DR Pasture plants of Southern Inland Queensland. DPI. 1995</ref> Southeast Asia, and various islands; considered noxious weed in some places * ''Cenchrus clandestinus'' (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone * ''Cenchrus complanatus'' {{small|(Nees) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus × cupreus'' {{small|(Thorpe) Govaerts}} * ''Cenchrus distachyus'' {{small|(E.Fourn.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus distichophyllus'' Griseb. – Cuba * ''Cenchrus divisus'' {{small|(J.F.Gmel.) Verloove, Govaerts & Buttler}} * ''Cenchrus domingensis'' {{small|(Spreng. ex Schult.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus durus'' {{small|(Beal) Morrone}} * ''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 exiguus'' {{small|(Mez) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus flaccidus'' {{small|(Griseb.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus flexilis'' {{small|(Mez) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus foermerianus'' {{small|(Leeke) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus geniculatus'' {{small|Thunb.}} * ''Cenchrus glaucifolius'' {{small|(Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Rudov}} * ''Cenchrus gracilescens'' {{small|(Hochst.) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus gracillimus'' Nash – West Indies and southeastern USA * ''Cenchrus henryanus'' {{small|(F.Br.) M.W.Tornab. & W.L.Wagner}} * ''Cenchrus hohenackeri'' {{small|(Hochst. ex Steud.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus hordeoides'' {{small|(Lam.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus intectus'' {{small|(Chase) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus lanatus'' {{small|(Klotzsch) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus latifolius'' {{small|(Spreng.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus laxius'' {{small|(Clayton) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus ledermannii'' {{small|(Mez) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus longisetus'' {{small|M.C.Johnst.}} * ''Cenchrus longispinus'' (Hack.) Fern. – mat sandbur – Canada, USA, and Mexico * ''Cenchrus longissimus'' {{small|(S.L.Chen & Y.X.Jin) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus × longistylus'' {{small|(Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Thulin & S.M.Phillips}} * ''Cenchrus massaicus'' {{small|(Stapf) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus mezianus'' {{small|(Leeke) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus michoacanus'' {{small|H.F.Gut. & Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus mitis'' Andersson – Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique * ''Cenchrus monostigma'' {{small|(Pilg.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus multiflorus'' J.Presl – Mexico, Central America * ''Cenchrus mutilatus'' {{small|Kuntze}} * ''Cenchrus myosuroides'' Kunth – North America, South America, and West Indies * ''Cenchrus nanus'' {{small|(Engl.) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus nervosus'' {{small|(Nees) Kuntze}} * ''Cenchrus nodiflorus'' {{small|(Franch.) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus nubicus'' {{small|(Hochst.) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus occidentalis'' {{small|(Chase) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus orientalis'' {{small|(Rich.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus palmeri'' Vasey – Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Arizona * ''Cenchrus pennisetiformis'' Steud. – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Subcontinent * ''Cenchrus peruvianus'' {{small|(Trin.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus petiolaris'' {{small|(Hochst.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus pilcomayensis'' {{small|(Mez) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus pilosus'' Kunth – central Mexico to northern Chile * ''Cenchrus pirottae'' {{small|(Chiov.) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus platyacanthus'' Andersson – Galápagos * ''Cenchrus prieurii'' (Kunth) Maire – Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Myanmar * ''Cenchrus preslii'' {{small|(Kunth) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus procerus'' {{small|(Stapf) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus prolificus'' {{small|(Chase) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus pseudotriticoides'' {{small|(A.Camus) Voronts.}} * ''Cenchrus pumilus'' {{small|(Hack.) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus purpureus'' (Schumach.) Morrone – Africa and Oman * ''Cenchrus qianningensis'' {{small|(S.L.Zhong) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus ramosus'' {{small|(Hochst.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus rigidus'' {{small|(Griseb.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus riparius'' {{small|(Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus robustus'' R.D.Webster – Queensland and New South Wales * ''Cenchrus rupestris'' {{small|(Chase) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus sagittatus'' {{small|(Henrard) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus schweinfurthii'' {{small|(Pilg.) Zon}} * ''Cenchrus setosus'' {{small|Sw. (1788)}} * ''Cenchrus setaceus'' {{small|(Forssk.) Morrone}} – 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 shaanxiensis'' {{small|(S.L.Chen & Y.X.Jin) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus sichuanensis'' {{small|(S.L.Chen & Y.X.Jin) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus sieberianus'' {{small|(Schltdl.) Verloove}} * ''Cenchrus somalensis'' Clayton – Somalia * ''Cenchrus sphacelatus'' {{small|(Nees) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus spinifex'' Cav. – coastal sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies * ''Cenchrus squamulatus'' {{small|(Fresen.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus stramineus'' {{small|(Peter) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus tempisquensis'' {{small|(R.W.Pohl) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus thulinii'' {{small|(S.M.Phillips) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus trachyphyllus'' {{small|(Pilg.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus tribuloides'' L. – sanddune sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies * ''Cenchrus trisetus'' {{small|(Leeke) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus tristachyus'' {{small|(Kunth) Kuntze}} * ''Cenchrus uliginosus'' {{small|(Hack.) ined.}} * ''Cenchrus unisetus'' {{small|(Nees) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus violaceus'' {{small|(Lam.) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus weberbaueri'' {{small|(Mez) Morrone}} * ''Cenchrus yemensis'' {{small|(Deflers) Rudov & Akhani}}

; Formerly included<ref name=aa/> Several species are now considered better suited to other genera: ''Anthephora, Centotheca, Dactyloctenium, Echinaria, Echinolaena, Hackelochloa, Hilaria, Pennisetum, Phragmites, Scleria, Setaria, Trachys, Tragus, Tribolium''.

<gallery> File:Sand spur with centimeter scale.jpg|Sand spur in front of a centimeter scale File:Sandspurs 2.jpg|Sandspurs with 1mm markings </gallery>

==See also== * List of Poaceae genera

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite web |url=http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News%20columns/Sandspur.htm |title=Sticky Sandspur |first=D. |last=Culbert |date=19 October 2003 |publisher=UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service}} *{{cite web |title=''Pennisetum'' Rich. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60437274-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=15 November 2020}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Wikispecies}} * {{GrassBase | name = ''Cenchrus'' | id = gen00110}}

Category:Cenchrus Category:Poaceae genera Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus