Imperata

Satintails
Imperata cylindrica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Panicoideae
Supertribe:	Andropogonodae
Tribe:	Andropogoneae
Subtribe:	Saccharinae
Genus:	Imperata Cirillo
Type species
Imperata arundinacea Cirillo

Imperata is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical grasses, commonly known as satintails.^[1][2]

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.^[3][4][5][6]

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.^[7][8][9]

Species

As of November 2022^[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:^[10]

• Imperata brasiliensis - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico
• Imperata brevifolia - southwestern US (CA AZ NV UT NM TX)
• Imperata cheesemanii - Kermadec Islands (part of New Zealand)
• 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 and 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

Various species have been relocated to other genera, such as Cinna, Lagurus, Miscanthus Saccharum, and Tripidium:^[11]

• Imperata eulalioides - Miscanthus sacchariflorus
• Imperata exaltata - Tripidium arundinaceum
• Imperata klaga - Saccharum spontaneum
• Imperata ovata - Lagurus ovatus
• Imperata saccharifera - Cinna arundinacea
• Imperata sacchariflora - Miscanthus sacchariflorus
• Imperata sara - Tripidium bengalense (syn. Saccharum bengalense)
• Imperata spontanea - Saccharum spontaneum
• Imperata tinctoria - Miscanthus tinctorius

References

1. Cirillo, Domenico Maria Leone 1792. Plantarum Rariorum Regni Neapolitani 2: 26
2. Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
3. Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 583 白茅属 bai mao shu Imperata Cirillo, Pl. Rar. Neapol. 2: 26. 1792.
4. Jepson Manual Treatment
5. United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
6. Grass Manual Genus Profile Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
7. Quattrocchi, Umberto (2006). CRC World Dictionary of Grasses. CRC Press. p. 1105. ISBN 978-1-4200-0322-2.
8. Flora of Pakistan
9. Atlas of Living Australia
10. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
11. Imperata