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
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...
. 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
''Cynodon barberi'' is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country ...
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
''Cynodon'', from Ancient Greek κύων (''kúōn''), meaning "dog", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth", is a genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World, as wel ...
'' (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 includedKew 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 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
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 ch ...
'', ''
Cortaderia
''Cortaderia'' is a genus of plants in the Poaceae or grass family of plants.
All current species included in the ''Cortaderia'' genus are native to South and Central America, ranging from the Patagonia region of southern Chile and Argentina, ...
'', ''
Ctenium
''Ctenium'' is a genus of African and Americas, American plants in the Poaceae, grass family.
; Species
; formerly included
see ''Dactyloctenium Enteropogon Tetrapogon''
* ''Ctenium digitatum - Enteropogon dolichostachyus''
* ''Ctenium indi ...
'', ''
Digitaria
''Digitaria'' is a genus of plants in the 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. They ar ...
'', ''
Diplachne
''Diplachne'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread over much of the world.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 ...
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 ''Gy ...
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 ...
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 ...