Poaceae
Birdwood grass
Cenchrus setiger
- Family
- Poaceae
- Genus
- Cenchrus
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Common names
By language (3)
- Chinese
- 倒刺蒺藜草
- English
- Birdwood grass
- Hausa
- Cencrus setiger
Synonyms
- Cenchrus bulbifer Hochst. ex Boiss.
- Cenchrus ciliaris var. setigerus (Vahl) Maire & Weiller
- Cenchrus montanus Nees ex Steud.
- Cenchrus montanus Nees
- Cenchrus quinquevalvis Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.
- Cenchrus schimperi Hochst. & Steud.
- Cenchrus tripsacoides R.Br.
- Cenchrus uniflorus Ehrenb. ex Boiss.
- Pennisetum ciliare var. setigerum (Vahl) Leeke
- Pennisetum setigerum (Vahl) Wipff
- Pennisetum vahlii Kunth
Flowers
- In flower
- January, June, August (from 17 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced
Photos
FlowerPhoto: Hugo Innes, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Hugo Innes, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: maxark, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Hugo Innes, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Cenchrus
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- Elephant grassCenchrus purpureusPoaceae
- Southern sandburCenchrus echinatusPoaceae
- African fountain grass, Tender fountain grass, Fountain grass, Purple fountain grassCenchrus setaceusPoaceae
- KikuyugrassCenchrus clandestinusPoaceae
- Buffel grassCenchrus ciliarisPoaceae
- FeathertopCenchrus longisetusPoaceae
- Indian sandburCenchrus biflorusPoaceae
- Mat sandburCenchrus longispinusPoaceae
- African feathergrassCenchrus caudatusPoaceae
- Deenanath Grass, Desho grass, Nigeria grassCenchrus pedicellatusPoaceae
- Coastal sandburCenchrus spinifexPoaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.