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buffel grass

Chinese fountain grass, oriental pennisetum, white Fountaingrass

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

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

nodes glabrous.

50-200 cm, erect, pubescent beneath the panicle;

nodes 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.

green or glaucous;

sheaths antrorsely scabridulous, mostly glabrous, margins ciliate;

ligules 1-1.7 mm;

blades 25-50 cm long, 3-9 mm wide, flat, antrorsely scabridulous, glabrous or pubescent, margins ciliate or glabrous basally, midvein not noticeably thickened.

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.

11.5-37.3 cm long, 35-50 mm wide, fully exerted from the sheaths, erect to slightly arching, white (sometimes purplish-tinged);

rachises terete, 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.

5.6-6.7 mm;

pedicels 0.1-0.2 mm;

lower glumes 1-2.2 mm, veinless;

upper glumes 3.1-5.5 mm, 1-3-veined;

lower florets staminate;

lower lemmas 5.2-6.5 mm, 4-6-veined;

lower paleas 3.8-5 mm;

anthers 2.3-3 mm;

upper florets not disarticulating at maturity;

upper lemmas 5.2-6.2 mm, margins glabrous, 5-veined;

upper paleas bifid, teeth 0.3-0.8 mm;

anthers 1.9-2.9 mm.

Caryopses

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

concealed by 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.

5-12 per cm;

fascicle axes 1-6 mm, with 1-10 spikelets;

outer bristles 0-24, 0.8-9.6 mm, terete, scabrous;

inner bristles 6-20, 5.6-17.5 mm, ciliate;

primary bristles 12.2-23.8 mm, ciliate, noticeably longer than the other bristles.

2n

= 36, 45.

= 18, 27, 36, 45, 54.

Pennisetum ciliare

Pennisetum orientale

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; FL; LA; MO; NM; NY; OK; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
TX
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 orientale is native from North Africa to India. It is grown as an ornamental in the Flora region, but has potential as a forage species.

(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. glaucum, P. latifolium, P. macrostachys, P. macrourum, P. nervosum, P. pedicellatum, P. petiolare, P. polystachion, P. purpureum, P. setaceum, P. setigerum, P. villosum
Synonyms Cenchrus ciliaris
Name authority (L.) Link Willd. ex Rich.
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