Imperata
Imperata is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical grasses, commonly known as satintails.
Satintail grass species are perennial rhizomatous herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is Imperata cylindrica, which is recognized as a devastating noxious weed in many places and cultivated as an ornamental plant in others.
The genus is named after Ferrante Imperato, a Renaissance apothecary who lived in Naples in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries. His collection included a herbarium.
; Species
- Imperata brasiliensis - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico
- Imperata brevifolia - southwestern USA
- Imperata cheesemanii - Kermadec Islands
- Imperata condensata - Argentina, Chile
- Imperata conferta - plumegrass, kunay grass - Southeast Asia, Papuasia, Micronesia
- Imperata contracta - guayanilla - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico
- Imperata cylindrica - bladygrass, cogongrass, speargrass, silver-spike - Africa, southern Europe, southwestern Asia; introduced in Central + Eastern Asia, North America, various islands
- Imperata flavida - Hainan Province in China
- Imperata minutiflora - Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina
- Imperata parodii - southern Chile
- Imperata tenuis - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Corrientes Province of Argentina
; formerly included
see Cinna Lagurus Miscanthus Saccharum