Cenchrus biflorus Roxb.
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Description
Cenchrus biflorus is a small annual or short-lived perennial grass, usually 20–60 cm tall, with a tufted growth habit. Culms are slender, erect or ascending, cylindrical, and often branched from the base. The plant develops a fibrous root system adapted to dry sandy habitats. Leaves are linear, flat, and alternate, arising from nodes along the culm. Leaf blades are usually 5–25 cm long and 2–8 mm wide, rough along the margins, and sometimes hairy. Leaf sheaths are compressed, and the ligule is membranous with a fringe of hairs. The inflorescence is a dense cylindrical spike-like panicle, usually 2–6 cm long, composed of numerous compact burs. Spikelets occur in clusters surrounded by a characteristic involucre of stiff bristles. The burs are small and strongly spiny, allowing attachment to animals for seed dispersal. Flowers are reduced, bisexual, and wind-pollinated. Each spikelet usually contains one fertile floret. The fruit is a caryopsis, enclosed within the hardened bur-like involucre.
Diagnostic Characters
Distribution
Native range: Native to Tropical Africa, South Asia.
In Pakistan: Found in Pakistan, India, Middle East, African regions. In Pakistan commonly occurs in Sandy plains, Thal Desert, Semi-arid regions.
Phenology
Ethnobotany & Uses
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Where it grows on campus
Taxonomic Notes
Cenchrus biflorus belongs to tribe Paniceae of Poaceae.