Fountain grass
പോതപ്പുല്ല്
Pennisetum setaceum
Kew's current name: Cenchrus setaceus (Forssk.) Morrone
- light
- Sun–part
- water
- Little
- tall
- 91 cm
- wide
- 1.1 m
Poaceae
Also called Fountain Grass, Crimson fountain grass, Purple Fountain Grass
Formerly Pennisetum erythraeum, Pennisetum parisii, Pennisetum ruppellii, Pennisetum scoparium, and 3 more
When it flowers
Not known yet in the tropics: too few flowering observations to read a season from.
Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- PerennialKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- Seasonally dry tropicalKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- N. Africa to Afghanistan and TanzaniaKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun to part shade (3 h or more)Read from NC State Extension, one source
- Height
- 91 cmRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension 2–4 ft; Wikipedia 3–3 ft
- Spread
- 91 cm to 1.2 mRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Water
- Little: takes droughtRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
- Flowers
- PurpleRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension pink, purple, red; Wikipedia purple
- Coldest it survives
- -6.7 °C (USDA zone 9a)Read from NC State Extension, one source
Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.
In other languages (12)
- French
- Herbe fontaine, Herbe aux écouvillons pourpres
- Portuguese
- Pennisetum, Plumas-do-Texas, Capim-do-Texas
- Japanese
- ファウンテングラス
- Lithuanian
- Šeriuotoji soruolė
- Russian
- Перистощетинник щетинистый
- Finnish
- arabiansulkahirssi
- Chinese
- 羽絨狼尾草, 緋紅狼尾草, 绒毛狼尾草
- Dutch
- fraai lampenpoetsersgras, fraai lampenpoetsergras
- German
- Afrikanisches Lampenputzergras
- Afrikaans
- Pronkgras
- Swedish
- fjäderborstgräs
- Turkish
- Kırmızı Çeşme Çimi
Where this comes from
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0 (observation counts)
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-26, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikipedia, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-24, CC BY-SA 4.0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- 3D model: Pennisetum setaceum (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.