Pennisetum setaceum – Crimson Fountaingrass

Pennisetum setaceum - Crimson Fountaingrass, Fountain Grass

Pennisetum setaceum - Crimson Fountaingrass, Fountain Grass

Pennisetum setaceum - Crimson Fountaingrass, Fountain Grass

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Pennisetum setaceum

Synonyms: Pennisetum ruppelii, Phalaris setacea

Common Names: Crimson Fountaingrass, Fountain Grass

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Graminoid

Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental grass is native to Africa.

Habitat: Desert, Upland (lower elevation), Riparian. This attractive, weedy grass grows in canyons, on rocky hillsides, and along roadsides.

Flower Color: Inconspicuous (yellow)

Flowering Season: Summer, Fall

Height: To 3 1/2 feet (1.1 m) tall and equally as wide

Description: The tiny flowers are hidden in long, narrowly cylindrical, upright to arching, feathery, pink or purplish aging to white inflorescences on tall, slender stems above the leaves. The numerous leaf blades are long, narrowly linear, green to tinged purplish, and upright, arching, and/or drooping. The plants are graceful and fountain-shaped.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae – Grass family
Genus: Pennisetum Rich. ex Pers. – fountaingrass
Species: Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov. – crimson fountaingrass

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map