grass Pennisetum? from Hooghly 23/10/12 sk

[surajit koley]

Sir,

Found this grass near my home. Attaching two sets, recorded at two places within 500 meter, the first set with maximum nos of pics inside a rejected compound of PWD office and the 2nd set in roadside ditch.

Species : Pennisetum purpureum Schumacher ?

H & H : roadside waste place, ditch; a few more than 10 feet high; stem erect, one or two diagonal; stem sometimes branched; leaves near inflorescence 50 cm x 1.7 cm, much longer and broader at base and midway; inflorescence about 15 cm long

Date : 23/10/12, 11.05 a.m.

Place : Hooghly

Thank you & Regards,

surajit

[manoj chandran]

Yes, it is Pennisetum purpureum, commonly called Napier grass. 

[surajit koley]

Sir,

I cannot express in writing how i am thankful to you. I have one earlier post of similar looking grass and i think that is also P. purpureum - https://groups.google.com/d/topic/indiantreepix/vX0f8PbsgTg/discussion

Regards,

surajit

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[manoj chandran]

Yes. That is also the same. However, under cultivation, there are also hybrid napiers which are man made hybrids of Pennisetum purpureum and P.americanum (Bajra). Their seeds will not be fertile.

[ushadi Micromini]

Manoj why would they be hybridized? for what purpose?

usha di

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Usha di
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[ushadi Micromini]

ANd I have one more silly question...
how does our Indian Bajra become  p. americanum?????
american??

usha di

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Usha di
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[ushadi Micromini]

Never mind...
I found a well written paper at this site  for the hybridization and its utility in animal husbandry ...
http://www.maralika.com/GRASS.html

thanks
usha di
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Usha di
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[surajit koley]

Good evening Sir,

When i searched the net for Pennisetum species in West Bengal i came across the cultivated hybrid of  the two Pennisetum species as you have mentioned here. But, i think this grass is no more cultivated in our locality, instead i have seen cultivation of another fodder grass and i have a post of that species too, at - https://groups.google.com/d/topic/indiantreepix/uYhS81NOivo/discussion.

Thank you very much for elaborating on every grass species.

Regards,

surajit

On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 8:13 AM, manoj chandran <mach...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[manoj chandran]

Hai !

It is just a nomenclature change. Earlier, Indian and African Bajra was known as Pennisetum typhoides. There was another species called P.spicatum from Africa, which later on was found to be just a variation of Pennisetum americanum, which is based on the originally published Panicum americanum Linn. published in 1753. A detailed study of P.americanum and P.typhoides from different areas and by different authors finally led to the consensus that both of them have several variations which are continuous in nature and hence should be considered as the same species. By rule of priority of publication, Pennisetum americanum (Linn.) K.Schum. was accepted as the correct name of pearl millet (bajra).

Regards...

Manoj Chandran.

[surajit koley]

Thank you Sir for elaborating more on Pennisetum.

Regards,

surajit

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