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Ischaemum

Genus of grasses

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated September 7, 2026
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Ischaemum is a genus in the tribe Andropogoneae, belonging to the grass family, widespread in tropical and semitropical regions in many countries. Many species are known commonly as murainagrass.

In 2022, Shahid Nawaz (an agrostologist, The Blatter Herbarium (BLAT)) described an unusual species in the genus characterised by its dioecious breeding system, it was named as Ischaemum dioecum Landge & R.D. Shinde. This species is endemic to a couple of locations in Western Ghats of Raigad district, Maharashtra, India. The male and female plants are sexually separate individuals and occupy similar ecological niches. This is the only dioecious species in the tribe Andropogoneae.

01Species

Ischaemum dioecum Landge & R. D. Shinde
Ischaemum dioecum Landge & R. D. Shinde

02Formerly included

numerous species now regarded as better suited to other genera: Andropogon, Andropterum, Apocopis, Arundinella, Bothriochloa, Coelorachis, Crypsis, Echinochloa, Eremochloa, Eulaliopsis, Kerriochloa, Lasiurus, Manisuris, Microstegium, Phacelurus, Pogonatherum, Polytrias, Rhytachne, Rottboellia, Sehima, Stenotaphrum, Thuarea, Triplopogon, Tripsacum, Vossia

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ischaemum”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Andropogoneae

The Andropogoneae, sometimes called the sorghum tribe, are a large tribe of grasses with roughly 1,200 species in 90 genera, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. They include such important crops as maize (corn), sugarcane, and sorghum.

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