''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the
grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
words meaning "dog-tooth". The genus as a whole as well as its species are commonly known as Bermuda grass or dog's tooth grass.
; Species
[
* '']Cynodon aethiopicus
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - Africa; introduced in South Africa, Queensland, Hawaii, Texas
* ''Cynodon barberi
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - India, Sri Lanka
* ''Cynodon coursii
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - Madagascar
* ''Cynodon dactylon
''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasi ...
'' - Old World; introduced in New World and on various islands
* ''Cynodon incompletus
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes ...
'' - southern Africa; introduced in Australia, Argentina
* ''Cynodon × magennisii
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga; introduced in Texas, Alabama
* '' Cynodon nlemfuensis'' - Africa from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe; introduced in South Africa, West Africa, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Texas, Florida, Mesoamerica, northern South America, various islands
* ''Cynodon plectostachyus
''Cynodon plectostachyus'', the giant star grass, is a species of grass (family Poaceae). It is native to Chad, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and has been introduced as a livestock forage to California and Florida in the United States, ...
'' - Chad, East Africa; introduced in Madagascar, Bangladesh, Mexico, West Indies, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Texas, California
* ''Cynodon radiatus
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - China, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Madagascar; introduced in Australia, New Guinea
* ''Cynodon transvaalensis
''Cynodon'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
The genus name comes from G ...
'' - South Africa, Lesotho; introduced in other parts of Africa plus in scattered locales in Iran, Australia, and the Americas
; Formerly included[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>
Several species now considered better suited to other genera, namely ''Arundo
''Arundo'' is a genus of stout, perennial plants in the grass family.
Description
''Arundo'' is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and much of temperate Asia as far east as Japan. They grow to 3–6 m tall, occasionally to 10 m, ...
'', ''Bouteloua
''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...
'', ''Brachyachne
''Brachyachne'' is a genus of African, Australian, and Southeast Asian plants in the grass family.
; Species
See also
* List of Poaceae genera
The true grasses (Poaceae) are one of the largest plant families, with around 12,000 species ...
'', ''Chloris
In Greek mythology, the name Chloris (; Greek Χλωρίς ''Chlōrís'', from χλωρός ''chlōrós'', meaning "greenish-yellow", "pale green", "pale", "pallid", or "fresh") appears in a variety of contexts. Some clearly refer to different char ...
'', ''Cortaderia
''Cortaderia'' is a genus of South American and Central American plants in the Poaceae grass family.
Etymology
The common name pampas grass, though strictly referring to ''C. selloana'', is frequently applied to all species in the genus (and so ...
'', ''Ctenium
''Ctenium'' is a genus of African and American plants in the grass family.
; Species
; formerly included
see ''Dactyloctenium Enteropogon Tetrapogon''
* ''Ctenium digitatum - Enteropogon dolichostachyus''
* ''Ctenium indicum - Tetrapogon ...
'', ''Digitaria
''Digitaria'' is a genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. ...
'', ''Diplachne
''Diplachne'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread over much of the world.Eleusine
''Eleusine'' is a genus of Asian, African, and South American plants in the grass family,[Enteropogon
''Enteropogon'' is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the grass family. It is widespread across many parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various islands.][Eragrostis
''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands.
''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is derived fr ...]
'', ''Eustachys
''Eustachys'' (fan grass or fingergrass) is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the Poaceae, grass family. It is native primarily to warmer parts of the Americas, with a few species in Africa and Asia.
Species
Species include:
* ''Eu ...
'', ''Gynerium
''Gynerium'' is a monotypic genus of Neotropical plants in the grass family, native to Mexico and Colombia, Central America, South America, and the West Indies. It is classified in its own tribe Gynerieae.
The sole species in the genus is ''G ...
'', ''Leptochloa
''Leptochloa'' is a widespread genus of Asian, African, Australian, and American plants in the grass family.
Members of the genus are commonly known as sprangletops.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words ληπτος (''leptos''), me ...
'', ''Molinia
''Molinia'', or moor grass, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the grass family, native to damp moorland in Eurasia and northern Africa. They are both herbaceous perennial grasses.
The genus is named after Juan Ignacio Molina, a ...
'', ''Muhlenbergia
''Muhlenbergia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family.
The genus is named in honor of the German-American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815). Many of the species are known by the common name muhly.
The greatest ...
'', ''Phragmites
''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.
Taxonomy
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...
'', ''Poa
''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...
'', ''Spartina
''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north ...
'', '' Tridens'', and ''Trigonochloa
''Trigonochloa'' is a genus of Asian and African plants in the grass family.
; Species
* '' Trigonochloa rupestris'' (C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson & N.Snow - Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Yemen
* '' Trigonochloa uniflora'' (Hochst. ex A. ...
''.
Cultivation and uses
Some species, most commonly ''C. dactylon'', are grown as lawn
A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...
grasses in warm temperate regions, such as the Sunbelt area of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where they are valued for their drought tolerance compared to most other lawn grasses. Propagation is by rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
s, stolon
In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...
s, or seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s. In some cases it is considered to be a weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
; it spreads through lawns and flower beds, where it can be difficult to kill with herbicides without damaging other grasses or plants. It is difficult to pull out because the rhizomes and stolons break readily, and then re-grow.
It is also noted for its common use on the surface of greens on golf courses, as well as football and baseball playing fields.
Recent news reports claim that a Bermuda-derived F1 hybrid called '' Tifton 85'' suddenly started producing cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
and killed a cattle herd in Texas, USA.
References
External links
Genus Cynodon on ITIS Report
Cynodon on USDA/Natural Resource Conservation Service
Lawn Maintenance Calendar (North Carolina)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q959222
Chloridoideae
Lawn grasses
Poaceae genera