Dactyloctenium
Encyclopedia
Dactyloctenium is a grass
genus
in the family
Poaceae
. The approximately ten species
in this genus are collectively known as crowfoot grasses. They are mainly native to Africa
and Australia
.
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
. The approximately ten species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in this genus are collectively known as crowfoot grasses. They are mainly native to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Selected species
- Dactyloctenium aegyptiumDactyloctenium aegyptiumDactyloctenium aegyptium, or Egyptian crowfoot grass is a member of the family Poaceae native in Africa. The plant mostly grows in heavy soils at damp sites.-Description:...
– Egyptian Grass - Dactyloctenium australe – Durban Grass
- Dactyloctenium germinatum – Sudan Crowfoot Grass
- Dactyloctenium giganteum
- Dactyloctenium hackeliiDactyloctenium hackeliiDactyloctenium hackelii is a species of grass in the Poaceae family.It is found only in Yemen.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.-Source:* Miller, A. 2004. . Downloaded on 20 July 2007....
- Dactyloctenium pilosum
- Dactyloctenium radulans – Buttongrass