''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical

grasses 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 ...

, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial

rhizomatous 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 ho ...

herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been intro ...

'', which is recognized as a devastating

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or li ...

in many places and cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

in others. The genus is named after Ferrante Imperato, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

who lived in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

in the late-16th and early-17th centuries. His collection included a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

.Atlas of Living Australia
/ref>

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted the following species:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> * '' Imperata brasiliensis'' - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico * ''

Imperata brevifolia ''Imperata brevifolia'' is a species of grass known by the common name California satintail. Distribution It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows in arid regions where water is ...

'' - southwestern US ( CA AZ NV UT NM TX) * '' Imperata cheesemanii'' -

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total ar ...

(part of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

) * ''

Imperata condensata ''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical grasses, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial rhizomatous herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is ...

'' - Argentina, Chile * ''

Imperata conferta ''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical grasses, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial rhizomatous herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is ...

'' - plumegrass, kunay grass - Southeast Asia,

Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises th ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, ...

* ''

Imperata contracta ''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical grasses, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial rhizomatous herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is ...

'' - guayanilla - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico * ''

'' - bladygrass, cogongrass, speargrass, silver-spike - Africa, southern Europe, southwestern Asia; introduced in central and eastern Asia, North America, various islands * ''

Imperata flavida ''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical Poaceae, grasses, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial Rhizome, rhizomatous herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best ...

'' -

Hainan Province Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

in China * '' Imperata minutiflora'' - Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina * '' Imperata parodii'' - southern Chile * '' Imperata tenuis'' - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil,

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...

of Argentina

Formerly Included

Various species have been relocated to other genera, such as '' Cinna, Lagurus, Miscanthus

Saccharum ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted oceani ...

,'' and '' Tripidium'':Imperata
/ref> * ''Imperata eulalioides -

Miscanthus sacchariflorus ''Miscanthus sacchariflorus'', the Amur silvergrass, is a grass native to temperate Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean ...

'' * ''Imperata exaltata -

Tripidium arundinaceum ''Tripidium arundinaceum'', synonym ''Saccharum arundinaceum'', commonly known as hardy sugar cane, is a grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia from India to Korea and New Guinea. In the Tamil language it is known as நாணல் � ...

'' * ''Imperata klaga - Saccharum spontaneum'' * ''Imperata ovata - Lagurus ovatus'' * ''Imperata saccharifera -

Cinna arundinacea Cinna may refer to: * Cornelii Cinnae, an ancient Roman family :* Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Roman consul four consecutive times in the 80s BC and at the time of his death the father-in-law of Julius Caesar :* Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus, a consp ...

'' * ''Imperata sacchariflora -

'' * ''Imperata sara -

Tripidium bengalense ''Tripidium bengalense'', synonym ''Saccharum bengalense'', with the common names munj sweetcane, baruwa sugarcane or baruwa grass, is a plant of the genus '' Tripidium'' native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh an ...

'' (syn. ''Saccharum bengalense'') * ''Imperata spontanea - Saccharum spontaneum'' * ''Imperata tinctoria - Miscanthus tinctorius''

References

Panicoideae Poaceae genera {{Panicoideae-stub