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Field guide
Fountain grass (Cenchrus setaceus)
Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0

also Crimson fountaingrass

Fountain grass

Cenchrus setaceus

Family:
Poaceae
Elevation:
1,000 ft – 6,000 ft
Bloom:
May – Oct
Region:
Southwest

Non-native invasive. This plant spreads aggressively and displaces native flora — it's here so you can recognize and manage it, not plant it. See Common problems & fixes below for removal guidance.

A tufted bunchgrass with arching, wiry leaves and eye-catching purplish to coppery bottlebrush plumes. Widely sold as an ornamental, it is a non-native invasive that escapes landscaping into wildlands, crowding out natives and carrying fire through desert that rarely burned before.

Care · tuned to the Southwest

Water

Drought-tolerant and opportunistic; thrives on minimal water, exploits roadside runoff, and explodes after rains while its seed bank waits.

Sun & exposure

Full sun on hot, open slopes and disturbed corridors.

Soil

Colonizes rocky slopes, roadsides, washes, disturbed ground, and cracks in rock or pavement.

In the Southwest

Harmful because it forms flammable stands that spread wildfire into fire-intolerant desert, outcompetes native grasses and wildflowers, and reseeds aggressively. Invasive — remove, don't plant, and don't buy it as an ornamental.

Common problems & fixes

  • Escapes from yards into the desert, forming fire-carrying fuel

    Fix — Remove plants before the plumes mature; cut and bag the seed heads to prevent scattering, then dig out the whole crown.

  • Wind-dispersed seed builds a persistent seed bank along roadsides and washes

    Fix — Pull or dig young plants including the root crown, bag all seeding material, and monitor the site for several years.

  • Dense clumps displace native grasses and wildflowers

    Fix — Spot-treat large stands with glyphosate during active growth, then replant with native bunchgrasses to resist reinvasion.

Pets & toxicity

Not chemically toxic, but the sharp bristly seed heads can lodge in an animal's fur, ears, eyes, nose, or paws and cause irritation or injury.

Easy to confuse with

  • Bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri) — finer, airier native plumes, not dense bottlebrush spikes
  • Purple threeawn (Aristida purpurea) — native, with three-pronged awns and a wispier seed head

Sources

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