crimson fountaingrass	USDA PLANTS Symbol: PESE3 USDA ARS GRIN: 27214 ITIS: 42013 NAPIS: PCACGBC
Pennisetum setaceum (Forsk.) Chiov.
Taxonomic Rank: Liliopsida: Cyperales: Poaceae
Synonym(s): fountain grass, fountaingrass
Crimson fountaingrass is a perennial, bunch grass that grows from 3-4 ft. (0.9-1.2 m) tall. Leaves are narrow, flat, arching, up to 2 ft. (0.6 m) long and purplish in color. Flowering occurs in summer through fall, when off-white/pinkish plumes develop about 1 ft. (0.3 m) above the leaves. Fruits are dry achenes with long bristles (some cultivars do not produce seed). Crimson fountaingrass is native to Africa and was introduced into Hawaii in 1914 and the southwestern United States in the 1940s. Plants were introduced as ornamentals and have now become invasive in the South.

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Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

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Selected Images from Invasive.org

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Plant(s); Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC. USDA PLANTS Database, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Stem(s); Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); plant Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Plant(s); plant Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); habit Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); seed head Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); habit Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Field; habit Forest & Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Plant(s); in flower John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Planting; Pennisetum planted in Bahamian landscape Tony Pernas, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage

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Distribution Map

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