Cenchrus setaceus
(Forssk.) Morrone · speciesAt a glance
Sources15 archives
Databases and archives Cenchrus setaceus's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation8 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility16 978 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI13 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics19 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
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.
Cenchrus setaceus, commonly known as crimson fountaingrass, is a C4 perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, the Middle East and south-western Asia. It has 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.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology19
Life cycle & reproduction36
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment31
Physiology & chemistry23
Uses & economy15
Other traits7
Compounds documented for Cenchrus setaceus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile3 classes
Documented compounds26 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1R,2R,6R,9S,10R,11R,14S,15S,17R,18S,20S,23R,24S)-6,10,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosane-17,20-diol | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,2R,6S,8R,9R,11S,14S,15S,18S,20S,23R,24R)-8,20-dihydroxy-6,8,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosan-17-one | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,2R,6S,8S,9R,11R,14S,15S,17R,18S,20S,23R,24S)-6,8,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosane-17,20-diol | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,2R,6S,8S,9R,11R,14S,15S,18S,20S,23R,24S)-20-hydroxy-6,8,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosan-17-one | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,2S,6S,9S,10R,11S,12S,14S,15S,17R,18S,20S,23R,24S)-6,10,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosane-12,17,20-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,2S,6S,9S,10S,11S,14S,15S,17S,18S,20R,23R,24S)-6,10,23-Trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacosane-10,17,20-triol | present | NPASS | |
| (1R,6R,9S,10R,14S,15S,17R,18S,20S,23R,24S)-6,10,23-trimethyl-4-azahexacyclo[12.11.0.02,11.04,9.015,24.018,23]pentacos-2(11)-ene-17,20-diol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R,3R,4S,5R,6S)-2-[[(2R,3S,4R,5R,6S)-6-[2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxychromenylium-3-yl]oxy-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]methoxy]-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,4aS,6aR,6bS,9S,11aS,11bR)-9-[(1R)-1-[(2S,5S)-1,5-dimethylpiperidin-2-yl]ethyl]-3-hydroxy-10,11b-dimethyl-2,3,4,4a,6,6a,6b,7,8,9,11,11a-dodecahydro-1H-benzo[a]fluoren-5-one | present | NPASS | |
| BMMRSXNAPFQLLU-OHMSHBSYSA-N | present | NPASS |
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 setaceus 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 setaceus 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 279×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-fedorov +3
2n 182×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · CromoCat 2015
2n 542×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · kew
2n 451×CCDB · book-atlas-flowering-plants
n 184×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · CromoCat 2015
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
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 type16 978 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 institutions37 of 69 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Adelaide, AU | 107 |
| BIO-UNIPIlocation not on record | 67 |
| Brisbane, AU | 62 |
| Auckland, NZ | 50 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 42 |
| Canberra, AU | 37 |
| Kensington, AU | 34 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 33 |
| San Diego, US | 31 |
| Honolulu, US | 28 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 25 |
| Saint Louis, US | 23 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 20 |
| Palmerston, AU | 13 |
| BClocation not on record | 12 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 12 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 11 |
| Tampa, US | 11 |
| Bronx, US | 10 |
| Smithfield, AU | 6 |
| Hobart, AU | 6 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 6 |
| Kew, GB | 5 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 4 |
| Claremont, US | 4 |
| South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbariumlocation not on record | 4 |
| València, ES | 3 |
| Phyletisches Museum Jenalocation not on record | 3 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 3 |
| FIlocation not on record | 3 |
| Long Beach, US | 3 |
| Armidale, AU | 3 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 2 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 2 |
| James Cook Townsvillelocation not on record | 2 |
| John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 2 |
| BGPAlocation not on record | 2 |
| WAGlocation not on record | 2 |
| Irvine, US | 2 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| UTFPR-CPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Pretoria, ZA | 1 |
| Berlin, DE | 1 |
| Wollongong, AU | 1 |
| NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record | 1 |
| Spearfish, US | 1 |
| Glasgow University Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| CASlocation not on record | 1 |
| South African National Biodiversity Institutelocation not on record | 1 |
| OLAlocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Johannesburglocation not on record | 1 |
| UIBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Jackson, US | 1 |
| Brasília, BR | 1 |
| Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paranálocation not on record | 1 |
| Campo Mourão, BR | 1 |
| Citadel Hill, GB | 1 |
| Plocation not on record | 1 |
| Cornell Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| Orto botanico dell'Università degli Studi di Catanialocation not on record | 1 |
| Whitehorse, CA | 1 |
| Riverside, US | 1 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| GRAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Phoenix, US | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation 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 setaceus 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.