Cenchrus purpureus

Cenchrus is from the Greek word cegchros, which is a type of millet. Purpureus is the Latin word meaning purple. Botanically it means red with a touch of blue.

Occurs near creeklines around Australia.

A perennial to 4 metres tall. The spike-like flower is produced from March to August.

This species is originally from East Africa.

It was previously known as Pennisetum purpureum.

Western Weeds, A Guide to the Weeds of Western Australia. BMJ Hussey, GJ Keighery, J Dodd, SG Lloyd, RD Cousens. 1997.

Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings, a Glossary. FA Sharr. 1996.

Flora of the Perth Region. NG Marchant, JR Wheeler, BL Rye, EM Bennett, NS Lander, TD Macfarlane. 1987.

Description and key to the identification of Grasses in South-Western Australia. JG Paterson. 1992.

Atlas of Living Australia https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2920041#overview

Florabase https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/41563

Why are there no photographs available for this plant?

The main reason why some plants don’t have photographs is because we haven’t found the plant yet. We have had a few flora surveys conducted and they have indicated that this plant can be found in the bush. The problem is that we just don’t know where in the bush to find it. And if we can’t find it, we can’t photograph it.

Another problem we have is that, while we have a name for the plant, we don’t know what it actually looks like. It’s very difficult to find a plant if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.

But rest assured that as soon as we have photographs for this plant we’ll put them on the website.