Cenchrus setaceus

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title: "Cenchrus setaceus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bunchgrasses-of-africa", "bunchgrasses-of-asia", "flora-of-north-africa", "flora-of-northeast-tropical-africa", "flora-of-east-tropical-africa", "flora-of-the-arabian-peninsula", "flora-of-western-asia", "garden-plants-of-asia", "garden-plants-of-africa", "perennial-plants", "ornamental-grass"] description: "Species of grass" topic_path: "general/bunchgrasses-of-africa" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenchrus_setaceus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of grass ::

| image = Starr 040217-0077 Pennisetum setaceum.jpg | genus = Cenchrus | species = setaceus | authority = (Forssk.) Morrone | synonyms =

• Pennisetum erythraeum Chiov.
• Pennisetum numidicum Paris
• Pennisetum parisii (Trab.) Trab.
• Pennisetum phalaroides Schult.
• Pennisetum ruppellii Steud.
• Pennisetum scoparium Chiov.
• Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov.
• Pennisetum spectabile Fig. & De Not.
• Pennisetum tiberiadis Boiss.
• Phalaris setacea Forssk.

Cenchrus setaceus, commonly known as crimson fountaingrass, is a C4 perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, the Middle East and south-western 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 the Canary Islands, Sicily, Sardinia, southern Spain, Australia, South Africa, Hawaii, the western United States, southern Florida and New Caledonia. 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.

In Europe, Fountain grass is included since 2017 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, cultivated, transported, commercialized, planted, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.

Gallery

File:Ripening seeds of Pennisetum setaceum.jpg|Ripening seeds of Cenchrus setaceus, In Kannur – Kerala File:Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7797.jpg| in Hyderabad, India File:Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7795.jpg| in Hyderabad, India File:Pennisetum setaceum3.jpg|Detail of ripening seeds File:Pennisetum setaceum-Guinther.jpg|Invasive, on a lava flow near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii File:AutumnBouquet.jpg|Autumn bouquet featuring showy plumes of Cenchrus setaceus (southeastern New York)

References

References

1. (28 January 2007). "Tackling Exotic Flora in the Teno Rural Park". Secret Tenerife.
2. "Fountain Grass". Australian Weeds Committee.
3. "Fountain Grass". Plant Conservation Alliance.
4. Hequet, Vanessa. (2009). "Les espèces exotiques envahissantes de Nouvelle-Calédonie".
5. (30 October 2021). "Eradicating invasive alien species: the battle against African fountain grass". [[Times of Malta]].
6. "List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern - Environment - European Commission".
7. "REGULATION (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European parliament and of the council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species".

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