Feathery Pennisetum

Cenchrus setosus

IntroducedInvasive · FISC Category II

Invasive — FISC Category II. The Florida Invasive Species Council lists this plant as increasing in abundance or frequency, though not yet altering Florida plant communities to the extent of Category I species. Please don't plant it; if it's on your land, consider removing it. About the FISC list

Feathery Pennisetum (Cenchrus setosus) — Photo: no rights reserved, uploaded by 葉子 · CC0 · source

At a glance

Family: Poaceae
Genus: Cenchrus
Status: Introduced to Florida
Sightings: 2 verified in Florida
Also called: Mission Grass, Thin Napiergrass, West Indian Pennisetum
Formerly: Pennisetum polystachion, Cenchrus polystachios, Pennisetum polystachyum, Setaria geniculata, Pennisetum setosum, Pennisetum ramosum

About

Cenchrus setosus, the feathery pennisetum, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae, first described in Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. (1788). It is native to Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South and Southeast Asia, extending from India to Indo-China, and has been widely introduced to tropical and subtropical regions across the Americas, Pacific Islands, and parts of Asia. It is sometimes cultivated as a pasture or fodder grass. Distinguishing features include the soft, crinkled hairs surrounding the spikelet and the deciduous upper floret, which serve as diagnostic characters for identification.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article “Cenchrus setosus”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where it grows in Florida

PanhandleNorthCentralSouthKeys

South: Collier, Lee

2 of 67 counties, from research-grade iNaturalist observations. They show where people have photographed it, not every place it grows — absence here isn't proof it's absent.