Cenchrus clandestinus
(Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone · speciesAt a glance
Sources13 archives
Databases and archives Cenchrus clandestinus's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation8 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility22 184 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI4 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics5 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The tropical grass species Cenchrus clandestinus (previously Pennisetum clandestinum) is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the highland regions of East Africa that is home to the Kikuyu people. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions. However, it is also a popular garden lawn species in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the southern region of California in the United States, as it is inexpensive and moderately drought-tolerant. In addition, it is useful as pasture for livestock grazing and serves as a food source for many avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird. The flowering culms are very short and "hidden" amongst the leaves, giving this species its specific epithet (clandestinus).
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology18
Life cycle & reproduction14
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment13
Physiology & chemistry1
Other traits2
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Cenchrus clandestinus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Cenchrus clandestinus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 366×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · book-ipcn65 · CCDB · book-indian_vol2 +3
2n 541×CCDB · book-indian_vol2
n 184×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · CromoCat 2015
n 271×CCDB · book-ipcn73-74
tetraploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type22 184 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions42 of 66 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis (JBB)location not on record | 266 |
| Adelaide, AU | 53 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 48 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 45 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 43 |
| Auckland, NZ | 43 |
| Canberra, AU | 41 |
| Brisbane, AU | 41 |
| Saint Louis, US | 35 |
| Hobart, AU | 19 |
| San Diego, US | 18 |
| NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record | 16 |
| Mexico City, MX | 14 |
| BClocation not on record | 14 |
| Kensington, AU | 13 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 10 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 10 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 6 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 6 |
| Honolulu, US | 6 |
| Armidale, AU | 6 |
| San José, CR | 5 |
| San Isidro, AR | 4 |
| Pondicherry, IN | 3 |
| Palmerston, AU | 3 |
| Chicago, US | 3 |
| Université de Bordeauxlocation not on record | 2 |
| UTPLlocation not on record | 2 |
| Claremont, US | 2 |
| Batemans Bay, AU | 2 |
| WAGlocation not on record | 2 |
| John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Kew, GB | 2 |
| Loja, EC | 2 |
| Universidad de La Salle (La Salle)location not on record | 2 |
| Wellington, NZ | 2 |
| Smithfield, AU | 2 |
| Universiti Sains Malaysialocation not on record | 1 |
| Palmerston North, NZ | 1 |
| Paleontological Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| Guasave, MX | 1 |
| BIO-UNIPIlocation not on record | 1 |
| Department of Plant Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratorieslocation not on record | 1 |
| Wollongong, AU | 1 |
| Bronx, US | 1 |
| Yaoundé, CM | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| Parkville, AU | 1 |
| Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, AR | 1 |
| Castelar, AR | 1 |
| Tampa, US | 1 |
| Calabar, NG | 1 |
| Laboratory of Palaeontologylocation not on record | 1 |
| St. Augustine, TT | 1 |
| Córdoba, AR | 1 |
| Herbario Universidad de Concepciónlocation not on record | 1 |
| UIBlocation not on record | 1 |
| South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropicallocation not on record | 1 |
| Corrientes, AR | 1 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 1 |
| Lubbock, US | 1 |
| La Trobe Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| UNESClocation not on record | 1 |
| Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Cenchrus clandestinus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.