Pennisetum is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

es in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Poaceae

Poaceae

The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...

, native to tropical and warm temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 regions of the world. They are large annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 or perennial grasses growing 1–4 m tall, and are collectively known as the pennisetums. The related genus Cenchrus is occasionally included in Pennisetum.

The genus includes a number of species grown for ornamental purposes (such as Fountain Grass, P. setaceum), as food (Pearl Millet

Pearl millet

Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. Grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times, it is generally accepted that pearl millet originated in Africa and was subsequently introduced into India. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for...

, P. glaucum), and as pasture (Kikuyu Grass, P. clandestinum ). Napier Grass (P. purpureum) is employed in push–pull technology plantings to attract Ostrinia

Ostrinia

Ostrinia is a genus of moths in the Crambidae family. Several of them, including the European Corn Borer, are agricultural pests.-Species:*Ostrinia avarialis Amsel, 1970*Ostrinia dorsivittata...

moths away from maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 and sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

 fields.

Several pennisetums, including Fountain Grass, Kikuyu Grass and Feathertop Grass (P. villosum

Pennisetum villosum

Pennisetum villosum is a species of grass known by the common name feathertop grass. It is native to northeastern Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and it is grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant. It can sometimes be found growing wild where it has escaped cultivation...

) have become invasive weeds, e.g. in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and on the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

. In an agricultural context, they can be smothered with cover crop

Cover crop

Cover crops are crops planted primarily to manage soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in agroecosystems , ecological systems managed and largely shaped by humans across a range of intensities to produce food, feed, or fiber.Cover crops are of...

s. In other contexts, they provide food for herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

s; Chestnut-breasted Munia

Chestnut-breasted Munia

The Chestnut-breasted Munia , also known as the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin or Bully Bird , is a small brown-backed munia with a black face and greyish crown and nape. It has a broad ferruginous breast bar above a white belly. The species is found in Australia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, and Papua...

s (Lonchura castaneothorax) like to eat Pearl Millet seeds, while Dark Evening Brown (Melanitis leda) caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s and Delia

Delia (genus)

The genus Delia is part of the fly family Anthomyiidae.The genus Delia contains approximately 300–340 species worldwide . At present about 170 species are recorded from the Palaearctic Region, and 162 species from the Nearctic Region, 44 of which are Holarctic. Afrotropical fauna includes 20 Delia...

larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e feed on Pennisetum plants. The sac fungus Cochliobolus sativus

Cochliobolus sativus

The fungus Cochliobolus sativus is the teleomorph of Bipolaris sorokiniana which is the causal agent of a wide variety of cereal diseases. The pathogen can infect and cause disease on the root , leaf and stem, and head tissue...

(anamorph: Bipolaris sorokiniana) is a plant pathogen infecting Pennisetum among other grasses, causing root rot

Root rot

Root rot is a condition found in both indoor and outdoor plants, although more common in indoor plants with poor drainage. As the name states, the roots of the plant rot. Usually, this is a result of overwatering. In houseplants, it is a very common problem, and is slightly less common in outdoor...

 and spot blotch diseases.

Selected species

• Pennisetum advena "Rubrum" – Purple Fountain Grass
• Pennisetum alopecuroides
  Pennisetum alopecuroides
  Pennisetum alopecuroides is a species of perennial grass native to Asia and Australia...
  
  – Chinese Pennisetum, Dwarf Fountain Grass
• Pennisetum arnhemicum F.Muell.
• Pennisetum caffrum
• Pennisetum clandestinum
  Pennisetum clandestinum
  The tropical grass species Pennisetum clandestinum is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the region of East Africa that is home to the Kĩkũyũ tribe. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions...
  
  – Kikuyu Grass
• Pennisetum ciliare - syn. Cenchrus ciliaris – Buffelgrass
• Pennisetum divisum
• Pennisetum glaucum
  Pearl millet
  Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. Grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times, it is generally accepted that pearl millet originated in Africa and was subsequently introduced into India. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for...
  
  – Pearl Millet
• Pennisetum latifolium – Uruguay Pennisetum
• Pennisetum macrostachyum
• Pennisetum macrourum
• Pennisetum orientale
• Pennisetum pedicellatum
• Pennisetum polystachion (L.) Schult.
  • Pennisetum polystachion ssp. setosum (Swartz) Brunken (= P. setosum)
• Pennisetum purpureum – Napier Grass, Uganda Grass, "elephant grass"
• Pennisetum setaceum – Fountain Grass
• Pennisetum subangustum
• Pennisetum villosum
  Pennisetum villosum
  Pennisetum villosum is a species of grass known by the common name feathertop grass. It is native to northeastern Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and it is grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant. It can sometimes be found growing wild where it has escaped cultivation...
  
  R.Br. ex Fresen. – Feathertop Grass, African Feather-grass

External links

• Crop Wild Relatives Gap Analysis Portal reliable information source on where and what to conserve ex-situ, regarding Pennisetum genepool