<P> Pennisetum / ˌpɛnɪˈsiːtəm / is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world . They are known commonly as fountaingrasses (fountain grasses) </P> <P> Pennisetum is closely related to the genus Cenchrus, and the boundary between them is unclear . Cenchrus was derived from Pennisetum and the two are grouped in a monophyletic clade . Some species now in Pennisetum were once members of Cenchrus, and some have been moved back . A main morphological character used to distinguish them is the degree of fusion of the bristles in the inflorescence, but this is often unreliable . Authors recently proposed to transfer Pennisetum into Cenchrus, along with the related genus Odontelytrum . </P> <P> As currently envisioned, Pennisetum is a genus of 80 to 140 species . The various species are native to Africa, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, with some of them widely naturalized in Europe and North America, as well as on various oceanic islands . </P> <P> They are annual or perennial grasses . Some are petite while others can produce stems up to 8 meters tall . The inflorescence is a very dense, narrow panicle containing fascicles of spikelets interspersed with bristles . There are three kinds of bristle, and some species have all three, while others do not . Some bristles are coated in hairs, sometimes long, showy, plumelike hairs that inspired the genus name, the Latin penna ("feather") and seta ("bristle"). </P>

Plant of north africa and the middle east with plume-like bristles
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