Fountain-grasses
What are they?
A small group of grasses that are grown for their ornamental value. These grasses were originally in the genus Pennisetum and are still often sold as such in nurseries and garden centres. Most species are perennial but often grown as annual as they don't always survive a cold winter.
Where are they found?
These grasses are native to tropical and warm-temperate parts of the world in the Americas as well as Africa, southern Asia and Australia. Species seen in the UK are grown commercially for their ornamental value and, as such, may be found in amenity plantings or as escapes from cultivation in urban areas.
Identification
Click here for help with some of the terminology used on the grass pages. This is a difficult group of grasses to tell from each other, partly because new forms are regularly introduced to cultivation and partly because a number of cultivated varieties exist which may vary from the basic identification features of the original species. Features to check include overall shape of the flower spike, whether the spikelet bristles are hairy or not, overall spikelet length (not including the bristles) and length of bristles. So it pays to have a ruler handy!
Some species resemble bristle-grasses and are most easily told from them by the slender, lanceolate spikelets (short and rounded in bristle-grasses).
Foxtail Fountain-grass Cenchrus alopecuroides
(Pennisetum alopecuroides) Native from eastern China south to Australasia. Densely tufted perennial, some forms growing to 150cm in height but cultivated forms are often smaller. Flower spikes very variable, 5-20cm x 2.5-5cm, varying from pale yellow or greenish to dark purple. Spikelets lanceolate, 6-8mm long, their bristles hairless but with minute, rough projections. Bristles to 3cm in length, typically dark and spreading (though may be pale in some forms). Leaf sheaths compressed laterally.
A number of cultivated varieties exist, with golden or red/purple foliage and flowers.
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African River-grass Cenchrus caudatus
(Pennisetum macrourum) Native to Africa south of the Sahara and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Densely tufted perennial, growing to 180 cm in height and somewhat resembling a small pampas grass when mature, with leaves 4-8mm wide and blue-green in colour. Flower spikes long and slender, dense, 7.5-30cm x 8-20mm, upright at first but arching when mature, pale or slightly purplish. Spikelets lanceolate, 4-6mm long, their bristles hairless but with minute, rough projections. Bristles all equal in length except one, the longer to 1.5cm in length. Leaf sheaths not compressed laterally.
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Feathertop Cenchrus longisetus
(Pennisetum villosum) Native to Northeast Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Loosely tufted perennial, to 60cm in height. Flower spikes 2-9cm in length and up to 5cm wide, at first erect but soon nodding, broadly cylindrical. Spikelets lanceolate, 9-15m long, their bristles distinctly hairy in the lower half. Bristles to 7.5cm in length. Leaf sheaths not compressed laterally.
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