Pennisetum setaceum

Pennisetum setaceum
Pennisetum setaceum habit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Monocots
Clade:Commelinids
Order:Poales
Family:Poaceae
Genus:Pennisetum
Species: P. setaceum
Binomial name
Pennisetum setaceum

Pennisetum setaceum, commonly known as crimson fountaingrass, is a C4 perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, Middle East and SW Asia. It has been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental plant, and has become an invasive species in some of them. It is drought-tolerant, grows fast, reaches 3 feet in height, and has many purple, plumose flower spikes.

Environmental threat

Fountaingrass has been introduced to Canarias,[1] Sicily, Sardinia, southern Spain, Australia,[2] South Africa, Hawaii, the Western United States,[3] California, and southern Florida. It thrives in warmer, drier areas and threatens many native species, with which it competes very effectively as an invasive species. It also tends to increase the risk of intense wildfires, to which it is well adapted, thus posing a further threat to certain native species.

Horticulture

Various cultivars are grown as ornamental grasses for horticulture and landscape use, such as Pennisetum setaceum "Rubrum" (red fountain grass). The cultivar, often grown as an annual, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Tackling Exotic Flora in the Teno Rural Park". Secret Tenerife. 28 January 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  2. ↑ "Fountain Grass". Weed Identification & Information. Australian Weeds Committee. Archived from the original on 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  3. ↑ "Fountain Grass". Alien Plant Working Group. Plant Conservation Alliance. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  4. ↑ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=3769
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