Cenchrus ciliaris

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Cenchrus ciliaris
Cenchrus ciliaris.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Cenchrus
Species:
C. ciliaris
Binomial name
Cenchrus ciliaris
L.
Synonyms
  • Pennisetum ciliare(L.) Link
  • Pennisetum cenchroides Rich.

Cenchrus ciliaris (buffel-grass [2] or African foxtail grass; syn. Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link) is a species of grass native to most of Africa, southern Asia (east to India), southern Iran, and the extreme south of Europe (Sicily). [3] Other names by which this grass is known include dhaman grass, anjan grass, koluk katai and buffelgrass. [4] [5]

Contents

Description

African foxtail grass is a perennial grass growing to 20 to 120 cm (10 to 50 in) tall. The leaves are linear, 3 to 25 cm (1 to 10 in) long and 4 to 10 mm (0.16 to 0.39 in) wide. The flowers are produced in a panicle 2 to 14 cm (0.8 to 5.5 in) long and 1 to 2.6 cm (0.4 to 1.0 in) wide. [6]

Distribution

African foxtail grass is native to tropical Africa, the Mediterranean region and the hotter and drier parts of Asia. It is a deep-rooted grass, tolerates drought, and will grow at altitudes of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It is considered a good forage grass in Africa. It prefers light soils with a high phosphorus content. It is also sown in Queensland, Australia and elsewhere for grazing, hay and silage. [4] It was introduced to the Sonoran Desert for erosion control and to feed livestock. In the Mexican part of the Sonoran Desert, it is still being planted and irrigated for livestock grazing. Cenchrus ciliaris has become naturalised and often an invasive species in Australia, the southwestern United States, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Macaronesia. [3]

As an invasive species

It was introduced in the 1930s into Arizona, United States, to provide grazing. The introduction was largely unsuccessful but the grass began to appear as a weed beside highways and in cleared fields or over-grazed land. It spreads very quickly and will often kill local native plants, such as palo verdes, by taking away nearby water. This plant has a very low ignition threshold and can burn even during the peak growing season. Its flammability (injurious to neighbors) and quick regrowth allow it to compete successfully against almost all vegetation in the Sonoran Desert region. [7]

Another problem of buffelgrass in the Sonoran Desert is that it intensifies wildfires such that saguaro cacti that normally survive wildfires can erupt into flames when growing in areas taken over by the grass. [8] [9]

In Queensland, Australia, the grass has also been attributed to causing a decline in the native grass species fed on by the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat, [10] and cited as a factor in the wombats' decline. [11] In South Australia, it is a declared plant under the Natural Resources Management Act and weed management activities are guided by the South Australia Buffel Grass Strategic Plan (2012–17). [12] In Australia's Northern Territory, invasive buffel grass was implicated in making fire control more challenging following the extensive wild fires that destroyed ancient trees in oases such as Standley Chasm in February 2019. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

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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.

<i>Pennisetum</i> Genus of grasses

Pennisetum is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. They are known commonly as fountaingrasses. Pennisetum is considered a synonym of Cenchrus in Kew's Plants of the World Online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern hairy-nosed wombat</span> Species of marsupial

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<i>Cenchrus</i> Genus of grasses

Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.

<i>Parkinsonia microphylla</i> Species of tree

Parkinsonia microphylla, the yellow paloverde, foothill paloverde or little-leaved palo verde; syn. Cercidium microphyllum), is a species of palo verde.

<i>Cyperus bulbosus</i> Species of plant

Cyperus bulbosus is a species of sedge found across Africa, the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. In Australia, it is commonly called Nalgoo or (Australian) bush onion or "wild onion", but is not related to the onion or other Alliaceae. It is a component of Australian bushfood, but is considered an agricultural weed in other areas.

<i>Prosopis velutina</i> Species of tree

Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.

<i>Cenchrus clandestinus</i> Species of plant

The tropical grass species Cenchrus clandestinus is known by several common names, most often Kikuyu grass, as it is native to the highland regions of East Africa that is home to the Kikuyu people. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions. However, it is also a popular garden lawn species in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the southern region of California in the United States, as it is inexpensive and moderately drought-tolerant. In addition, it is useful as pasture for livestock grazing and serves as a food source for many avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird. The flowering culms are very short and "hidden" amongst the leaves, giving this species its specific epithet (clandestinus).

<i>Bromus madritensis</i> Species of grass

Bromus madritensis is a species of brome grass known by the common name compact brome. The specific epithet madritensis refers to Madrid, Spain. It has a diploid number of 28.

<i>Cenchrus echinatus</i> Species of plant

Cenchrus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names southern sandbur, spiny sandbur, southern sandspur, and in Australia, Mossman River grass. It is native to North and South America.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saguaro</span> Species of cactus in the Sonoran Desert

The saguaro is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea that can grow to be over 12 meters tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. Its scientific name is given in honor of Andrew Carnegie. In 1994, Saguaro National Park, near Tucson, Arizona, was designated to help protect this species and its habitat.

<i>Megathyrsus maximus</i> Species of plant

Megathyrsus maximus, known as Guinea grass and green panic grass, is a large perennial bunch grass that is native to Africa and Yemen. It has been introduced in the tropics around the world. It has previously been called Urochloa maxima and Panicum maximum. It was moved to the genus Megathyrsus in 2003.

Ambrosia cheiranthifolia is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common names South Texas ambrosia and Rio Grande ragweed. It is native to the coast of South Texas and the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Coahuila. It occurs in coastal prairie, grassland, and mesquite shrubland habitat. It has declined because its native habitat has been cleared for development, with remaining open savanna invaded by non-native grasses such as buffelgrass. Today there are perhaps 20 populations remaining, but some of these may have very few genetic individuals because the species is clonal, with many cloned plants attached by one rhizome. It is not certain that the plant still exists in Mexico. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Escobaria robbinsiorum</span> Species of cactus

Escobaria robbinsorum is a rare species of cactus known by the common names Cochise pincushion cactus and Cochise foxtail cactus. It is native to southern Arizona in the United States, where it is known only from Cochise County, and northern Sonora in Mexico. There are scattered small occurrences on the north side of the border, and one known population to the south. Because of its rarity and a number of threats to remaining plants, the species was federally listed with a threatened status in 1986.

<i>Eragrostis lehmanniana</i> Species of grass

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<i>Bothriochloa pertusa</i> Species of plant

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Cenchrus pennisetiformis, commonly known in Australia as the Cloncurry, white or slender buffel grass, is a species of grass in the genus Cenchrus. It is native to parts of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent, and has been introduced to some other parts of the world as a drought-tolerant forage crop.

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References

  1. Allen, R. (2017). "Cenchrus ciliaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T13490705A13490709. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T13490705A13490709.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. 1 2 "Cenchrus ciliaris". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Cenchrus ciliaris L." Grassland species: Profiles. FAO. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  5. "Buffelgrass". www.desertmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  6. Clayton, W.D.; Vorontsova, M.S.; Harman, K.T.; Williamson, H. "Cenchrus ciliaris". GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  7. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Buffelgrass.
  8. Davis, Tony (2020-06-13). "Invasive buffelgrass may have helped Bighorn Fire take out saguaros". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  9. "Invasive grass is overwhelming U.S. deserts—providing fuel for wildfires". Travel. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  10. Casey, Fiona; Old, Julie M.; Stannard, Hayley J. (2023). "Assessment of the diet of the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) using DNA metabarcoding". Ecology and Evolution. 13. doi: 10.1002/ece3.10469 .
  11. Marshall, V.M.; Lewis, M.M.; Ostendorf, B. (2012-03-01). "Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) as an invader and threat to biodiversity in arid environments: A review". Journal of Arid Environments. 78: 1–12. Bibcode:2012JArEn..78....1M. doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.11.005 . ISSN   0140-1963.
  12. "Buffel Grass". Primary Industries and Regions South Australia. Primary Industries and Regions South Australia. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  13. "West MacDonnells blaze: Sorrow and questions - Alice Springs News". 11 February 2019.
  14. "The summer bushfires you didn't hear about, and the invasive species fuelling them". NITV. 12 March 2019.