Pennisetum purpureum

Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone, Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 106: 129 (2010) as per POWO;
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Pennisetum purpureum Schumach., Beskr. Guin. Pl. 44 1827. (Syn: Amphochaeta exaltata Andersson [Illegitimate]; Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone; Gymnotrix nitens Andersson; Pennisetum benthamii Steud.; Pennisetum benthamii var. nudum Hack.; Pennisetum benthamii var. sambesiense Hack.; Pennisetum benthamii var. ternatum Hack.; Pennisetum blepharideum Gilli; Pennisetum exaltatum (Andersson) Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks. [Illegitimate]; Pennisetum flavicomum Leeke; Pennisetum flexispica K.Schum.; Pennisetum giganteum Regel [Illegitimate]; Pennisetum gossweileri Stapf & C.E.Hubb.; Pennisetum hainanense H.R.Zhao & A.T.Liu; Pennisetum lachnorrhachis Peter; Pennisetum macrostachyum Benth. [Illegitimate]; Pennisetum nitens (Andersson) Hack.; Pennisetum pallescens Leeke; Pennisetum pruinosum Leeke; Pennisetum purpureum subsp. benthamii (Steud.) Maire & Weiller; Pennisetum purpureum subsp. flexispica (K.Schum.) Maire & Weiller);
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Sahara to Tropical Africa, Aldabra, Arabian Peninsula: Aldabra, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe; Introduced into: Alabama, Andaman Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Assam, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, California, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Florida, French Guiana, Galápagos, Gilbert Is., Guatemala, Guyana, Hainan, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Jawa, Kazan-retto, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Leeward Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Madeira, Malaya, Maluku, Marianas, Marshall Is., Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Morocco, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand North, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niue, Norfolk Is., Northern Provinces, Ogasawara-shoto, Palestine, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rodrigues, Réunion, Samoa, Society Is., Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, St.Helena, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Swaziland, Taiwan, Texas, Thailand, Tokelau-Manihiki, Trinidad-Tobago, Tubuai Is., Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis-Futuna Is., West Himalaya, Windward Is. as per POWO;

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This is a common grass of more than 5 ft in height and can be found in village outskirts.

Species : UNKNOWN

Habit & Habitat : wild grass, uncultivated land

Date : 08-04-12, 2.00 p.m.

Place : Hooghly, WB

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I was consulting poaceae genera given in my ‘plant groups’ book along with the internet. Found two similar species –

1) Imperata arundinacea : link-1 : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperata_cylindrica#Etymology and link-2 : Lazakia photo gene

2) Pennisetum purpureum : link-1 : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennisetum_purpureum and link-2 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nico_bees_wasps/3637255707/

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H & H : roadside waste place, ditch; a few more than 10 feet high; stem erect, one or two diagonal; stem sometimes branched; leaves near inflorescence 50 cm x 1.7 cm, much longer and broader at base and midway; inflorescence about 15 cm long

Date : 23/10/12, 11.05 a.m.
Place : Hooghly

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Yes, it is Pennisetum purpureum, commonly called Napier grass. 

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I cannot express in writing how i am thankful to you. I have one earlier post of similar looking grass and i think that is also P. purpureum – efi thread

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I cannot express in writing how i am thankful to you. I have one earlier post of similar looking grass and i think that is also P. purpureum – efi thread

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Yes. That is also the same. However, under cultivation, there are also hybrid napiers which are man made hybrids of Pennisetum purpureum and P.americanum (Bajra). Their seeds will not be fertile.

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Manoj why would they be hybridized? for what purpose?

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ANd I have one more silly question…
how does our Indian Bajra become p. americanum????? american??

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I found a well written paper at this site for the hybridization and its utility in animal husbandry …
http://www.maralika.com/GRASS.html

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When i searched the net for Pennisetum species in West Bengal i came across the cultivated hybrid of the two Pennisetum species as you have mentioned here. But, i think this grass is no more cultivated in our locality, instead i have seen cultivation of another fodder grass and i have a post of that species too, at – efi thread.

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It is just a nomenclature change. Earlier, Indian and African Bajra was known as Pennisetum typhoides. There was another species called P.spicatum from Africa, which later on was found to be just a variation of Pennisetum americanum, which is based on the originally published Panicum americanum Linn. published in 1753. A detailed study of P.americanum and P.typhoides from different areas and by different authors finally led to the consensus that both of them have several variations which are continuous in nature and hence should be considered as the same species. By rule of priority of publication, Pennisetum americanum (Linn.) K.Schum. was accepted as the correct name of pearl millet (bajra).

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Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae Week: Poacaeae; Fodder grass for ID from Hyderabad 05042013 CS1 :
This is a cultivated grass from the Agricultural University fields. Is it Pennisetum sp

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Pennisetum purpureum

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Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae Week:Poaceae grass for ID 05042013 CS 3 : Attachments (1). 2 posts by 2 authors.
Cultivated fodder grass

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Pennisetum purpureum

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Grass ID from Bangladesh SM163 : 3 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (1).
Habit: Grass
Habitat: Wild
Flowering: April,2010
Location: Khustia

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Does it look like efi thread ?

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Pennisetum purpureum – Napier grass– hybrid fodder

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Need help with grass ID (is this non native penissetum?): 3 images.
Bhopal
17/4/2021

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Cenchrus,

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Pennisetum purpureum

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Now it’s Cenchrus purpureus right sir,

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References:
POWO