Last week, I posted on Cogongrass aka Lalang Grass. You can read about it HERE. This week, I am posting about Pennisetum Rubrum – a cultivar of the Imperata cylindrica. They look so much like the Cogongrass except that the Pennisetum is coloured and larger in size.
Pennisetum is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. They are known commonly as fountaingrasses (fountain grasses).
Pennisetum Rubrum are annual or perennial grasses. Currently, it is a genus of 80 to 140 species. They have been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental plant, and has become an invasive species in some of them. It is drought-tolerant, grows fast, reaches 3 feet in height, and has many purple, plumose flower spikes.
They are commonly seen here in Singapore. In their early stages of growth, they are all right. The coloured leaves, or grasses do add colour to the surrounding. But as they grow older, (and they grow very quickly), they begin to lean over, sticking out every way looking rather messy.
As ornamental plants, they are difficult to maintain. You would have to uproot them and plant new ones ever couple of months. If not properly maintained, they are an eyesore, and is anything but ornamental.
They are not my favourite plants. When I first saw them planted in beds all over the island, I wondered if someone had mistaken the grass which people considered a nuisance for something else. But, obviously they did not.
They don't look very ornamental, do they?
This picture was taken on a hot sunny day. Look at how dry they are. Like the Cogongrass, they are highly flammable.
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