Skip to content
Napier grass
葉子, CC0, via iNaturalist

Grasses & bamboos

Napier grass

Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone

LC Least ConcernIntroduced by people

Names

EnglishNapier grass
Dutch—
SpanishPasto Taiwan
Chinese象草
Scientific nameCenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone

About this species

Cenchrus purpureus, synonym Pennisetum purpureum, also known as Napier grass, elephant grass or Uganda grass, is a species of perennial tropical grass native to African grasslands. It has low water and nutrient requirements, and therefore can make use of otherwise uncultivated lands.

Historically, this wild species has been used primarily for grazing, recently, however, it has been used as part of a push–pull agricultural pest management strategy. Napier grasses improve soil fertility, and protect arid land from soil erosion. It is also utilized for firebreaks, windbreaks, in paper pulp production and most recently to produce bio-oil, biogas and charcoal.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassLiliopsida
OrderPoales
FamilyPoaceae
GenusCenchrus

In Suriname

4Records in Suriname
1iNaturalist observations
1964First record
1984Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Para2

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

Spotted a mistake or know another local name? Tell us.

Related species in Suriname