''Imperata'' is a small but widespread genus of tropical and subtropical

grasses Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

, commonly known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herbs with solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences. The best known species is ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and Southern Europe. It has al ...

'', which is recognized as a devastating

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or lives ...

in many places and cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in others. The genus is named after

Ferrante Imperato Ferrante Imperato (1525? – 1615?), an apothecary of Naples, published ''Dell'Historia Naturale'' (Naples 1599) and illustrated it with his own cabinet of curiosities displayed at Palazzo Orsini di Gravina, Palazzo Gravina in Naples; the engra ...

, a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

who lived in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in the late-16th and early-17th centuries. His collection included a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

.Atlas of Living Australia
/ref>

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted the following species:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> * ''

Imperata brasiliensis ''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 ...

'' - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico * ''

Imperata brevifolia ''Imperata brevifolia'' is a species of grass known by the common name California satintail. Distribution It is native to the Southwestern United States from California to Texas. It is also native to northern Mexico, where it grows in arid regio ...

'' - southwestern US ( CA AZ NV UT NM TX) * ''

Imperata cheesemanii ''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 ...

'' -

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

(part of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

) * ''

Imperata condensata ''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 ...

'' - Argentina, Chile * ''

Imperata conferta ''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 ...

'' - plumegrass, kunay grass - Southeast Asia,

Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises th ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

* ''

Imperata contracta ''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 ...

'' - guayanilla - South + Central America, West Indies, southern Mexico * ''

'' - bladygrass, cogongrass, speargrass, silver-spike - Africa, southern Europe, southwestern Asia; introduced in central and eastern Asia, North America, various islands * ''

Imperata flavida ''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 ...

'' -

Hainan Province Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea" ...

in China * ''

Imperata minutiflora ''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 ...

'' - Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina * '' Imperata parodii'' - southern Chile * ''

Imperata tenuis ''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 ...

'' - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil,

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...

of Argentina

Formerly Included

Various species have been relocated to other genera, such as '' Cinna, Lagurus,

Miscanthus ''Miscanthus'', or silvergrass'','' is a genus of African, Eurasian, and Pacific Island plants in the grass family, Poaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words "''miskos"'', meaning "stem", and "''anthos"'', meaning "flower", in reference ...

Saccharum ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted ocean ...

,'' and '' Tripidium'':Imperata
/ref> * ''Imperata eulalioides - Miscanthus sacchariflorus'' * ''Imperata exaltata - Tripidium arundinaceum'' * ''Imperata klaga -

Saccharum spontaneum ''Saccharum spontaneum'' (wild sugarcane, kans grass) is a grass native throughout much of tropical and subtropical Asia, northern Australia, and eastern and northern Africa. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with s ...

'' * ''Imperata ovata -

Lagurus ovatus ''Lagurus'' is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to the Mediterranean Basin and nearby regions, from Madeira and the Canary Islands to Crimea and Saudi Arabia. It is also naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, the Azores, I ...

'' * ''Imperata saccharifera - Cinna arundinacea'' * ''Imperata sacchariflora - Miscanthus sacchariflorus'' * ''Imperata sara -

Tripidium bengalense ''Tripidium bengalense'', synonym ''Saccharum bengalense'', with the common names munj sweetcane, baruwa sugarcane or baruwa grass, is a plant of the genus '' Tripidium'' native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh an ...

'' (syn. ''Saccharum bengalense'') * ''Imperata spontanea -

'' * ''Imperata tinctoria - Miscanthus tinctorius''

References

Andropogoneae Poaceae genera {{Panicoideae-stub