Genus: Cenchrus

sandbur

The spikelets of our species are clustered within two layers of bristles that form a bur-like structure. The outer bristles are slender, round or flattened, and mostly lower down on the bur. The inner ones are joined together into tiny cups with sharply-pointed tips. Compare with Tragus. Reference: Stieber and Wipff (2003).

Family

Poaceae (grass family)

This Genus’s Species in New England:

• Cenchrus longispinus
• Cenchrus spinifex

Visit this genus in the Dichotomous Key