Cenchrus

Cenchrus is a widespread genus of grasses, family Poaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions worldwide, comprising 108 currently accepted species distributed across Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas and various oceanic islands. Commonly called buffelgrasses, sandburs or sand spurs, names referencing the sharp, spine-covered burrs of the inflorescences, the genus also now includes species formerly classified in the genus Pennisetum, commonly known as fountaingrasses, which major botanical databases including Kew Plants of the World Online no longer recognize as taxonomically separate from Cenchrus. Members are annual or perennial grasses ranging from small specimens to forms with stems up to 8 meters tall, with a distinctive inflorescence forming a dense, narrow panicle containing fascicles of spikelets interspersed with bristles, some bearing long, showy, plumelike hairs.