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Cenchrus echinatus
Also called Spiny Sandbur, Burrgrass, Mossman River Grass, Bur Grass, Hedgehog Grass, Innocent Weed, Southern Sandbur Grass
Southern sandbur is a clump-forming annual grass, up to about 80 cm tall, native to the Americas and grown as a weed rather than a garden plant. Its spiny, barbed burrs stick to clothing, fur and skin, and it is invasive in coastal areas of Australia and several Pacific islands.
Cenchrus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names southern sandbur, spiny sandbur, southern sandspur, and in Australia, Mossman River grass. It is native to North and South America.
It is a clump-forming annual grass growing up to 80 cm (31 in) tall. The leaves occur with or without hairs and measure up to 12 mm (0.47 in) wide. The ligule is a fringe of hairs. The grass has barbed burrs of 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long.
The species is invasive in New Caledonia, Tahiti, and Rarotonga.
Pearl millet · Indian sandbur · Buffel grass · Kikuyugrass · Mat sandbur · Oriental Fountain Grass · Annual Mission Grass · Elephant Grass · Cenchrus riparius · Crimson Fountaingrass · Birdwood grass · Sandbur
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cenchrus echinatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
