Pennisetum | Fountain Grass

Pennisetum

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The Pennisetum genus of garden grasses which have originally developed across many of the world’s tropical and temperate regions. Pennisetum grasses tend to be large plants which can grow between one and four metres tall and there are around 120 distinct species to be found worldwide. Their natural habitats can be anything from dry woodlands to open savannah.Most pennisetum grasses are distinguishable by their feathery flower spikes that give the genus its name – “Pennisetum” comes from the Latin words “penna”, for feather and “seta” for bristle. It is also the reason that pennisetum plants are commonly known as “fountain grass.”These flower spikelets appear at the tops of the plants in the summer and remain until late autumn, such attractive displays make them particularly prized by gardeners for spicing up mixed borders.Some of the most popular varieties of pennisetum in the UK include Pennisetum alopecuroides Hameln, which features dark green foliage, or the reddish hairy flowers of Pennisetum thunbergii Red Buttons.