Lamp cleaner grass

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Lamp cleaner grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

Pennisetum alopecuroides ( Pennisetum alopecuroides )

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
Genre : Lamp cleaner grasses ( Pennisetum )
Type : Lamp cleaner grass
Scientific name
Pennisetum alopecuroides
( L. ) Explos.

The fountain grass ( Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng. , Syn .: Cenchrus alopecuroides (L.) Thunb. ), Also spring Borstgras or Australian fountain grass called, is a kind from the family of the sweet grasses (Poaceae).

description

Pennisetum is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in dense clumps . The stalks reach heights between 30 and 120 centimeters. The leaf sheaths are parchment-like, keeled and scale-shaped at the base of the stem. The medium to dark green leaves measure between 10 and 80 in length and 0.3 to 1 centimeter in width. In autumn the leaves, which sometimes overhang at the ends, turn golden yellow.

The eponymous, 6 to 30 centimeters long inflorescences are false spikes in which the partial inflorescences ( spikelets ) are densely packed. They are from yellow-green to dark purple in color and, with their bristly, feathery shape, are reminiscent of lamp cleaners, a kind of brush. They stand at the ends of upright or bent stalks. The spikelets are two-flowered with a basal sterile and an upper fertile single flower. The flowering and fruiting time is between summer and autumn.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22 or 36.

distribution

Pennisetum is a species that is native to the region from East Asia to Australia . The distribution area extends from China to the temperate zones of East Asia, to Malesia and also extends to north-western and eastern Australia.

It grows there in fresh meadows. Since the species is frost-hardy , the lamp-cleaning grass has been available in gardening shops since the second half of the 20th century. As a location, it prefers sunny and warm places and moderately dry to moist soils. The plant does not tolerate very dry, compacted or sandy soils.

maintenance

The plant must be watered regularly in the tub , because the root ball must never dry out. Fertilization is carried out every 14 days from May to August. The lamp cleaner grass can hibernate in the bucket, provided it is covered with spruce branches during the frosty period. Only in spring do you cut back the bloomed ears.

Multiplication

The multiplication is done by division in spring or by seed dispersal.

sorts

In the gardening trade, cultivars are now also offered. A selection:

  • With a leaf length of around 50 centimeters, the 'Hameln' variety is slightly smaller than the wild form. It already blooms in early summer and has ears of wheat that are tinted with white and green.
  • The 'Moudry' variety remains even lower. Its leaves are deep green in color. The panicles are purple to black.
  • The 'Piglet' variety also remains lower. The panicles are tinged white-pink.

  • Without panicles of flowers

  • Detail view of panicle

  • Detail view sheet

Web links

Commons : Pennisetum  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tropicos. [1]
  2. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Pennisetum alopecuroides. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  3. ↑ Information from the Missouri Botanical Garden , Kemper Center For Home Gardening, Marks and Culture [2]
  4. ↑ Information from the Missouri Botanical Garden , Kemper Center For Home Gardening, Marks and Culture [3]
  5. ^ Judy Lowe: Tennessee & Kentucky Garden Guide: The Best Plants for a Tennessee or Kentucky Garden , Cool Springs Press, 2012, p. 180 [4] ; Nellie Neal: The Nonstop Color Garden: Design Flowering Landscapes & Gardens for Year-round Enjoyment Cool Springs Press, p. 176 [5]