Taxon: Cenchrus echinatus L.

Summary

Genus:

Cenchrus

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paniceae

Subtribe:

Cenchrinae

Nomen number:

9795

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:1050. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/06/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

1 (1 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Cenchrus echinatus L. f. echinatus

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cenchrus brevisetus E. Fourn.

No images

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.
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
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). Note: introduced
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 39:139-247.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
National Plant Board. 2008-. National Plant Board federal and state quarantine summaries
Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Radford, A. E. et al. 1964. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas.
Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status.
Releford, J. S. et al. 2009. Flora of Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls, Republic of the Marshalls Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 572:1-13.
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	bur grass		1	Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
English	hedgehog grass		1	Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
English	innocent-weed		1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Mossman River grass		1	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
English	southern sandbur		1	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
English	southern sandbur grass	http://nationalplantboard.org/docs/summaries/california.pdf	1	National Plant Board. 2008-. National Plant Board federal and state quarantine summaries
English	spiny sandbur		1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-amoroso		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-carrapicho		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-roseta		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-timbete		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	cadillo		2	Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Spanish	guizazo		2	Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Aguascalientes	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tlaxcala	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominica		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico	Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.	Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica		Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina		Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile		Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay		Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay		Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 39:139-247.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru		Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Fujian Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangdong Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hainan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). Note: introduced
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia		Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	Marshall Islands		Releford, J. S. et al. 2009. Flora of Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls, Republic of the Marshalls Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 572:1-13.

Native
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Baja California (Norte), Baja California Sur]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Naturalized
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Israel
CHINA: China [Fujian Sheng, Guangdong Sheng, Hainan Sheng, Yunnan Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Pacific

NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Marshall Islands

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). Note: introduced
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 39:139-247.
Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Releford, J. S. et al. 2009. Flora of Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls, Republic of the Marshalls Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 572:1-13.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:843.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:146.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	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

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=9795. Accessed 17 April 2026.