Taxon:  Cenchrus biflorus Roxb.



Summary
Genus:
Cenchrus
Family:
Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)
Subfamily:
Panicoideae
Tribe:
Paniceae
Subtribe:
Cenchrinae
Nomen number:
9791
Place of publication:
Fl. ind. 1:238.  1820
Verified:
01/07/1993 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
1 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cenchrus barbatus Schumach.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Spikelets and/or florets

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  2. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  3. Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
  4. Bor, N. L. 1960. The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India, and Pakistan.
  5. CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
  6. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  7. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  8. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  9. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  10. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  11. Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58
  12. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  13. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  14. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  15. Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
  16. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  17. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  18. Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic.
  19. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  20. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  21. Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishIndia sandbur  1Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
Portuguese (Brazil)capim-carrapicho  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya e.Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania incl. ZanzibarTurrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaChad   
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEritrea   
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia   
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan   
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola   
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaLimpopo Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBenin   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBurkina Faso   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGambia   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGhana   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGuinea   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMali   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMauritania   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNiger   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNigeria   
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal   
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo   
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2CultivatedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia n.Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
4Naturalized    widely natzd. paleotropic weed 
6Other    exact native range obscure 
Native
Africa
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya (e.), Tanzania (incl. Zanzibar)
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa [Limpopo]
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Pakistan
Cultivated
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia (n.)
Naturalized (widely natzd. paleotropic weed)
Other (exact native range obscure)

Reference(s)
  1. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  2. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  3. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  4. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  5. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  6. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  7. Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodforage Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Environmentalrevegetator Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Weedseed contaminantpotentialCIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=9791. Accessed 17 April 2026.