Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Erianthus bengalense - a species with ornamental potential

A few years back, we were experimenting with a relative of sugarcane (Saccharum) where I work, called Erianthus bengalense, the genus of which I believe in Greek, means red (eri) flower (anthus). We are no longer experimenting with Erianthus bengalense, but still have an interest in Erianthus arundinaceus, which is more robust, but, in my opinion is considerably less attractive. Unfortunately, in the USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) system, all the species within the Erianthus genus got lumped under Saccharum, which is technically not accurate.

I was enamored with the beauty of the plant, so I planted a stool of it in my back yard for its ornamental effect before the field it was in got plowed. The last two years, it was beaten up pretty badly because of severe storms, but this year, it achieved its full glory. [I added a second picture taken about two weeks later; note that the white speck at the top is the moon in the background]

1 comment:

Lori said...

Wow, it's huge!! That's really cool!!