''Cynodon'', from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
κύων (''kúōn''), meaning "dog", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth", is a genus of plants in the
grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
, as well as being cultivated and naturalized in the New World and on many oceanic islands.
Taxonomy
The genus name comes from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
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 of all kno ...
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 ambiguus''
(Ohwi) P.M.Peterson
*''
Cynodon barberi''
Rang. & Tadul. – India, Sri Lanka
*''
Cynodon convergens''
F.Muell.
*''
Cynodon coursii''
A.Camus – Madagascar
*''
Cynodon dactylon
''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, also known as couch grass in Australia and New Zealand, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Contra ...
''
(L.) Pers. – Old World; introduced in New World and on various islands
*''
Cynodon incompletus''
Nees – southern Africa; introduced in Australia, Argentina
*
''Cynodon'' × ''magennisii'' Hurcombe – Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga; introduced in Texas, Alabama
*''
Cynodon nlemfuensis''
Vanderyst - 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, M ...
''
(K.Schum.) Pilg. – Chad, East Africa; introduced in Madagascar, Bangladesh, Mexico, West Indies, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Texas, California
*''
Cynodon prostratus''
(C.A.Gardner & C.E.Hubb.) P.M.Peterson
*''
Cynodon radiatus''
Roth – China, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Madagascar; introduced in Australia, New Guinea
*''
Cynodon simonii''
P.M.Peterson
*''
Cynodon tenellus''
R.Br.
*''
Cynodon transvaalensis''
Burtt Davy – 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'', ''Bouteloua
''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.
Description
''Bouteloua'' includes both annual and perennial grasses, which frequently form stolons. Species have an inflo ...
'', '' Chloris'', '' Cortaderia'', '' Ctenium'', '' Digitaria'', '' Diplachne'', '' Eleusine'', '' Enteropogon'', ''Eragrostis
''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, 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 de ...
'', '' Eustachys'', '' Gynerium'', '' Leptochloa'', '' Molinia'', ''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 plant, perennial reed (plant), reed Poaceae, grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.
Taxonomy
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Famili ...
'', ''Poa
''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, 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 spe ...
'', ''Spartina
''Spartina'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Species in this genus are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Eu ...
'', '' Tridens'', and '' Trigonochloa''.
Cultivation and uses
Some species, most commonly ''C. dactylon'', are grown as lawn
A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...
grasses in warm temperate regions, such as the Sunbelt area of the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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 Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s, stolon
In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...
s, or seed
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s. In some cases it is considered to be a weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
; 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
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
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