Brachiaria
| signalgrass | |
|---|---|
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| Brachiaria plantaginea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: |
Brachiaria (Trin.) Griseb., 1853 |
| Type species | |
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Brachiaria eruciformis (Sm.) Griseb. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Brachiaria, or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands. There are over 100 species.
Some species are cultivated as forage. Some species of Brachiaria were probably first introduced unintentionally to the Americas in the colonial period, from slave ships. B. decumbens was introduced to Brazil in 1952 and B. ruziziensis in the 1960s. Brachiaria is the most widely used tropical grass in Central and South America, with about 40 million hectares planted in Brazil alone.
This genus was described in 1853. It is similar to Panicum, and some authors believe Panicum is ancestral to it. It has also been confused with Urochloa, and sometimes combined with it. A recent phylogenetic analysis concluded that Brachiaria and Urochloa are a monophyletic group, along with Eriochloa and Melinis, and that further molecular and morphological work is needed to establish clear relationships. In the meantime, Brachiaria and Urochloa plants are usually not difficult to distinguish from one another.
Brachiaria are annual or perennial grasses, most lacking rhizomes. The inflorescence is a branching panicle, and the plant reaches about a meter in height. The plants are bisexual and the flowers are fleshy, with 3 anthers. Some species have a prominent vein in the center of the leaf.Brachiaria are C4 species and can tolerate drier conditions and more light exposure than some other plants.
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Wikipedia