Cenchrus Explained
Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family.[1] Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.[2] [3]
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.[4]
Some botanists include the genus within the related genus Pennisetum.
Species
107 species are currently accepted. They include:[5] [6] [7]
- Cenchrus abyssinicus (Hack.) Morrone – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Yemen, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
- Cenchrus agrimonioides Trin. - kāmanomano – Hawaiian Islands
- Cenchrus alopecuroides
- Cenchrus americanus
- Cenchrus annuus
- Cenchrus arnhemicus (F.Muell.) Morrone – Australia (Western Australia and Northern Territory)
- Cenchrus articularis
- Cenchrus basedowii
- Cenchrus beckeroides
- 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
- Cenchrus caliculatus Cav. – Australia, New Zealand, and assorted islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans
- Cenchrus caudatus
- Cenchrus chilensis
- 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,[8] Southeast Asia, and various islands; considered noxious weed in some places
- Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone
- Cenchrus complanatus
- Cenchrus × cupreus
- Cenchrus distachyus
- Cenchrus distichophyllus Griseb. – Cuba
- Cenchrus divisus
- Cenchrus domingensis
- Cenchrus durus
- 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
- Cenchrus flaccidus
- Cenchrus flexilis
- Cenchrus foermerianus
- Cenchrus geniculatus
- Cenchrus glaucifolius
- Cenchrus gracilescens
- Cenchrus gracillimus Nash – West Indies and southeastern USA
- Cenchrus henryanus
- Cenchrus hohenackeri
- Cenchrus hordeoides
- Cenchrus intectus
- Cenchrus lanatus
- Cenchrus latifolius
- Cenchrus laxius
- Cenchrus ledermannii
- Cenchrus longisetus
- Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fern. - mat sandbur – Canada, USA, and Mexico
- Cenchrus longissimus
- Cenchrus × longistylus
- Cenchrus massaicus
- Cenchrus mezianus
- Cenchrus michoacanus
- Cenchrus mitis Andersson – Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique
- Cenchrus monostigma
- Cenchrus multiflorus J.Presl – Mexico, Central America
- Cenchrus mutilatus
- Cenchrus myosuroides Kunth – North America, South America, and West Indies
- Cenchrus nanus
- Cenchrus nervosus
- Cenchrus nodiflorus
- Cenchrus nubicus
- Cenchrus occidentalis
- Cenchrus orientalis
- Cenchrus palmeri Vasey – Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Arizona
- Cenchrus pennisetiformis Steud. – Africa, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Subcontinent
- Cenchrus peruvianus
- Cenchrus petiolaris
- Cenchrus pilcomayensis
- Cenchrus pilosus Kunth – central Mexico to northern Chile
- Cenchrus pirottae
- Cenchrus platyacanthus Andersson – Galápagos
- Cenchrus prieurii (Kunth) Maire – Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent, and Myanmar
- Cenchrus preslii
- Cenchrus procerus
- Cenchrus prolificus
- Cenchrus pseudotriticoides
- Cenchrus pumilus
- Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone – Africa and Oman
- Cenchrus qianningensis
- Cenchrus ramosus
- Cenchrus rigidus
- Cenchrus riparius
- Cenchrus robustus R.D.Webster – Queensland and New South Wales
- Cenchrus rupestris
- Cenchrus sagittatus
- Cenchrus schweinfurthii
- 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
- Cenchrus setiger Vahl – Sahara, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Cenchrus shaanxiensis
- Cenchrus sichuanensis
- Cenchrus sieberianus
- Cenchrus somalensis Clayton – Somalia
- Cenchrus sphacelatus
- Cenchrus spinifex Cav. - coastal sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
- Cenchrus squamulatus
- Cenchrus stramineus
- Cenchrus tempisquensis
- Cenchrus thulinii
- Cenchrus trachyphyllus
- Cenchrus tribuloides L. - sanddune sandbur – North America, South America, and West Indies
- Cenchrus trisetus
- Cenchrus tristachyus
- Cenchrus uliginosus
- Cenchrus unisetus
- Cenchrus violaceus
- Cenchrus weberbaueri
- Cenchrus yemensis
- Formerly included[5] 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
References
- Web site: Sticky Sandspur . D. . Culbert . 19 October 2003 . UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service.
Notes and References
- https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/359070#page/491/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 1049–1050
- http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=106002 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 552 蒺藜草属 ji li cao shu Cenchrus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1049. 1753.
- http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Cenchrus Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Cenchrus
- Web site: What is a Sandspur anyway? . shelkey.org. 20 October 2008 . 13 November 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090816225320/http://www.shellkey.org/updates.asp . 16 August 2009 .
- Web site: Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
- Web site: GRIN Species Records of Cenchrus . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture . 6 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090508032827/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?2228 . 8 May 2009 . dead .
- http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Cenchrus The Plant List search for Cenchrus
- Henry DR Pasture plants of Southern Inland Queensland. DPI. 1995
