Biology:Spinifex (plant)

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Short description: Genus of grasses

Spinifex
Spinifex longifolius in the Grant Marine Park in Cottesloe, Western Australia..JPG
Spinifex longifolius
Grant Marine Park
Cottesloe, Western Australia.
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Subtribe: Cenchrinae
Genus: Spinifex
L.
Type species
Spinifex squarrosus
(syn of S. littoreus)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Ixalum G.Forst
Spinifex seed head, resting on the beach.

Spinifex is a genus of perennial coastal plants in the grass family.[2][3][4][5]

They are one of the most common plants that grow in sand dunes along the coasts of Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia , New Zealand, and New Caledonia, with the ranges of some species extending north and west along the coasts of Asia as far as India and Japan .[6] As they help stabilise the sand, these grasses are an important part of the entire sand dune ecosystem. The single species indigenous to New Zealand, Spinifex sericeus,[7] is also found in Australia .[8]

Confusingly, the word "spinifex" is also used as a common name referring to grasses in the related genus Triodia. Triodia however is native to inland Australia and refers to a group of spiny-leaved, tussock-forming grasses.

Species[1][9]
formerly included[1]
  • Spinifex paradoxus (now Zygochloa paradoxa)

References

Wikidata ☰ Q138801 entry