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buffel grass

pearl millet, yellow bristlegrass

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose from a hard, knotty base, with or without rhizomes. Plants annual.
Culms

10-150 cm, erect, sometimes branching at the aerial nodes, glabrous, sometimes scabrous beneath the panicle;

nodes glabrous.

50-300 cm, erect, branching;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous or pubescent, with or without ciliate margins;

ligules 2-5 mm;

blades 15-100 cm long, 7-70 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent.

Leaves

green or glaucous;

sheaths glabrous or pubescent, margins ciliate;

ligules 0.5-3 mm, membranous, ciliate;

blades 3-50 cm long, 2-13 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent, margins ciliate or glabrous basally.

Panicles

2-20 cm long, 4-35 mm wide, fully exerted from the sheaths, erect, green, brown, brown-purple, or dark purple;

rachises terete, scabrous.

terminal, 4-200 cm long, 2-70 mm wide, fully exerted from the sheaths, erect;

rachises terete, densely pubescent.

Spikelets

2.5-5.6 mm, sessile, glabrous;

lower glumes 1-3 mm, 0-1-veined;

upper glumes 1.3-3.4 mm, about 1/2 as long as the spikelet, (0)1-3-veined;

lower florets staminate or sterile;

lower lemmas 2.5-5.3 mm, 3-7-veined;

lower paleas absent or 2.5-5 mm;

anthers absent or about 1.4 mm;

upper florets not disarticulating at maturity;

upper lemmas 2.2-5.4 mm, (3)5(6)-veined, margins glabrous;

anthers 1.4-2.7 mm.

3-7 mm;

pedicels 0.6-1.8 mm;

lower glumes absent or to 1.5 mm, veinless;

upper glumes 0.5-3.5 mm, 3-5-veined;

lower florets staminate or sterile;

lower lemmas 1.5-6 mm, glabrous, 3-7-veined, margins ciliate;

lower paleas vestigial or fully developed, margins ciliate;

anthers 2.2-2.5 mm, penicillate;

upper florets coriaceous, shiny;

upper lemmas 4.3-7 mm, 5-7(9)-veined, margins ciliate;

upper paleas 3.4-3.9 mm, pubescent, at least near the base, margins ciliate;

anthers 2-2.2 mm, penicillate.

Caryopses

1.2-1.9 mm long, 0.4-1 mm wide, concealed by the lemma and palea at maturity.

2-5.5 mm long, 1.6-3.2 mm wide, protruding from the lemma and palea at maturity.

Fascicles

11-37 per cm, disarticulating at maturity;

fascicle axes 0.2-1.5 cm, with 1-12 spikelets;

outer bristles 16-89, 0.3-11.7 mm, many exceeding the spikelets;

inner bristles 7-20, 3.8-13.8 mm, fused to 1/4 of their length, flattened, grooved, ciliate;

primary bristles 10.5-23 mm, long-ciliate, noticeably longer than the other bristles.

33-160 per cm;

fascicle axes 1-28 mm, persistent, with 1-9 spikelets;

outer bristles 44-131, 0.5-6 mm;

inner bristles 6-19, 4-6 mm, plumose;

primary bristles 5.5-6.3, ciliate, sometimes noticeably longer than the other bristles.

2n

= 36, 45.

= 14.

Pennisetum ciliare

Pennisetum glaucum

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; FL; LA; MO; NM; NY; OK; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Pennisetum ciliare is native to Africa, western Asia, and India. It now grows throughout the warmer, drier regions of the world, often as a forage crop, and is established in much of the southeastern United States. It is sometimes included in Cenchrus, based solely on the fusion of its bristles.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Pennisetum glaucum, a native of Asia, is cultivated in the United States for grain, forage, and birdseed. It is the most drought tolerant of the tropical cereal crops. Under favorable conditions, 10,000-30,000+ fascicles may be produced. In the Flora region, it is used for soil stabilization, partly because it seldom persists for more than 1-2 years.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 525. FNA vol. 25.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Pennisetum Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Pennisetum
Sibling taxa
P. advena, P. alopecuroides, P. clandestinum, P. flaccidum, P. glaucum, P. latifolium, P. macrostachys, P. macrourum, P. nervosum, P. orientale, P. pedicellatum, P. petiolare, P. polystachion, P. purpureum, P. setaceum, P. setigerum, P. villosum
P. advena, P. alopecuroides, P. ciliare, P. clandestinum, P. flaccidum, P. latifolium, P. macrostachys, P. macrourum, P. nervosum, P. orientale, P. pedicellatum, P. petiolare, P. polystachion, P. purpureum, P. setaceum, P. setigerum, P. villosum
Synonyms Cenchrus ciliaris
Name authority (L.) Link (L.) R. Br.
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