Poaceae FAMILY

Cenchrus prieurii

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual/Perennial

Growth—

A plant of semi-arid and arid regions in the tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres^[1]. It is found in areas with a mean annual rainfall in the range 200 - 500mm^[1]. Requires a sunny position in a light, well-drained soil^[1]. The plant photosynthesizes by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions^{[2, 1]}.

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cenchrus+prieurii>

Pollinators

Wind

References

[1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
[2]Lost Crops of the Incas — Popenoe. H. et al · National Academy Press · 1990 · ISBN 0-309-04264-X ↩︎An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.
[3]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/