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Cenchrus purpureus
Also called Napier Grass, M'fufu Grass, Merker Grass, Morrone, Napier Fodder, Uganda Grass, Umfufu Grass
Elephant grass is a tall, robust, bamboo-like perennial grass from African grasslands, grown mainly as fodder and for bioenergy. It thrives in warm, sunny conditions with little water and few nutrients.
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.
Pearl millet · Indian sandbur · Buffel grass · Kikuyugrass · Southern sandbur · Mat sandbur · Oriental Fountain Grass · Annual Mission Grass · Cenchrus riparius · Crimson Fountaingrass · Birdwood grass · Sandbur
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cenchrus purpureus 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.
