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pearl millet, yellow bristlegrass

Chinese Fountaingrass, foxtail Fountaingrass

Habit Plants annual. Plants perennial; cespitose.
Culms

50-300 cm, erect, branching;

nodes glabrous.

30-100 cm, erect;

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.

glabrous, margins ciliate;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, membranous, ciliate;

blades (10)30-60 cm long, 2-8(12) mm wide, flat to folded, glabrous, margins ciliate basally.

Panicles

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

rachises terete, densely pubescent.

all terminal, 6-20 cm long, 20-53 mm wide, fully exerted from the sheaths, erect, green to brown, deep purple, or stramineous to creamy-white;

rachises terete, with pubescent hairs.

Spikelets

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.

5.5-8.4 mm, sessile or subsessile, glabrous;

pedicels to 0.1 mm;

lower glumes 0.2-1.4 mm, veinless;

upper glumes 2-4.9 mm, to 1/2 as long as the spikelet, 1-5-veined, acute to broadly acute;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas 4.9-8.1 mm, 7-9(10)-veined;

lower paleas absent;

upper lemmas 5.2-7.6 mm, 5-7-veined, acuminate;

anthers 3, 3-4.5 mm.

Caryopses

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

Fascicles

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.

9-16 per cm;

fascicle axes 1.5-5.6 mm, with a stipelike base of 1-5.6 mm and 1(2) spikelet(s);

outer bristles 13-19, 0.8-15.6 mm;

inner bristles 7-10, 11.2-30 mm, scabrous;

primary bristles 26.7-35 mm, scabrous, usually not noticeably longer than the other bristles.

2n

= 14.

= 18.

Pennisetum glaucum

Pennisetum alopecuroides

Distribution
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]
from FNA
AR; IL; NC; NY; OH; PA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Pennisetum alopecuroides is native to southeast Asia. It is frequently grown as an ornamental in the Flora region.

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

Source FNA vol. 25. FNA vol. 25.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Pennisetum Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Pennisetum
Sibling taxa
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
P. advena, P. ciliare, 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
Name authority (L.) R. Br. (L.) Spreng.
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