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This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropical & Subtropical Old World.
A specimen from Kew's Herbarium

[GB]

nonem

Morphology General Habit
Annual (2), or perennial (52). Rhizomes absent (51), or short (2). Culms erect (38/42), or geniculately ascending (10/42), or decumbent (1/42), or rambling (1/42); robust (1/2), or slender (1/2); 15-105.4-300 cm long; firm (49), or wiry (4); without nodal roots (3/5), or with prop roots (4/5). Culm-internodes terete (1/1). Culm-nodes flush with internodes (1/4), or swollen (4/4). Leaf-sheath auricles absent, or erect (3). Ligule an eciliate membrane (52), or a ciliolate membrane (1). Leaf-blades filiform (7), or linear (52), or lanceolate (3); herbaceous (51), or coriaceous (2); firm (52), or flaccid (1); without scent (3), or aromatic (50).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Synflorescence compound; scanty (5), or linear (33), or paniculate (22), or fasciculate (1), or globose (1). Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; subtended by a spatheole; exserted (3), or embraced at base by subtending leaf (2), or enclosed (48). Spatheole linear (2/41), or lanceolate (9/41), or elliptic (33/41); chartaceous (4/9), or herbaceous (5/9). Racemes paired; erect (8), or ascending (3), or deflexed (43); bearing 2 fertile spikelets on each (1/11), or 3 fertile spikelets on each (3/11), or 4 fertile spikelets on each (5/11), or 5 fertile spikelets on each (11/11), or 6 fertile spikelets on each (8/11), or 7 fertile spikelets on each (5/11), or 8 fertile spikelets on each (4/11). Rhachis fragile at the nodes; semiterete (51/51). Rhachis internodes filiform (1), or linear (50), or clavate (2). Rhachis internode tip transverse; cupuliform. Raceme-bases brief (1), or linear (2), or flattened (50); subequal (30/52), or unequal (the longer measured) (22/52). Spikelets ascending (1/1); in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels filiform (1), or linear (50), or clavate (2); tip widened (1/1).
Sterile
Basal sterile spikelets absent (6), or represented by a single scale (1), or rudimentary (3), or well-developed (44). Companion sterile spikelets represented by single glumes (2), or well-developed (51); deciduous with the fertile (52/52). Companion sterile spikelet glumes muticous (49/50), or pungent (1/50).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear (2), or lanceolate (36), or elliptic (10), or oblong (7), or ovate (3); dorsally compressed; 2.49-4.822-9 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pubescent (8/25), or pilose (16/25), or bearded (1/25); base obtuse; inserted. Basal sterile spikelets absent (6), or represented by a single scale (1), or rudimentary (3), or well-developed (44). Companion sterile spikelets represented by single glumes (2), or well-developed (51); deciduous with the fertile (52/52). Companion sterile spikelet glumes muticous (49/50), or pungent (1/50).
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear (2), or lanceolate (36), or elliptic (10), or oblong (7), or ovate (3); dorsally compressed; 2.49-4.822-9 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pubescent (8/25), or pilose (16/25), or bearded (1/25); base obtuse; inserted.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume linear (6), or lanceolate (32), or elliptic (8), or oblong (10), or ovate (2); membranous (5/50), or chartaceous (45/50); 2-keeled; wingless (19), or winged on keel (36). Lower glume intercarinal veins absent (27/52), or obscure (17/52), or distinct (26/52). Lower glume surface convex (1), or flat (22), or concave (25), or with V-shaped depression (13); smooth (51), or wrinkled (6), or rugose (1); glabrous (52), or puberulous (1), or pubescent (3). Lower glume apex entire (48), or dentate (5); 2 -fid (4/5), or 3 -fid (1/5); emarginate (11/17), or obtuse (1/17), or acuminate (5/17). Upper glume linear (1), or lanceolate (52); membranous (1/2), or chartaceous (1/2); 1-keeled; wingless (48), or winged on keel (5); 1-2 -veined (2/9), or 3 -veined (7/9), or 5-6 -veined (1/9), or 7 -veined (2/9). Upper glume primary vein eciliate (51), or ciliate (2). Upper glume surface glabrous (52), or pubescent (1). Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate (1).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret linear (2/15), or lanceolate (9/15), or elliptic (1/15), or oblong (3/15); hyaline; 1 -veined (1/10), or 2 -veined (9/10), or 3 -veined (1/10); acute (1/1). Fertile lemma linear (3), or lanceolate (51), or oblong (1); hyaline (51/51); without keel; 1 -veined (3/3), or 2-3 -veined (1/3). Lemma margins eciliate (49), or ciliolate (2), or ciliate (2). Lemma apex entire (4), or dentate (5), or lobed (47); 2 -fid (52/52); incised 0.15-0.4757-0.5 of lemma length; muticous (6), or mucronate (3), or awned (50); 1 -awned (50/50). Principal lemma awn apical (3/52), or from a sinus (49/52); straight (7/52), or geniculate (46/52). Palea present (1), or absent or minute (52).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2 (1/1). Anthers 3 (50/50).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp (30/30); ellipsoid (2/7), or orbicular (2/7), or obovoid (3/7), or oblanceolate (1/7); isodiametric (3/3).
Distribution
Africa (15), or Temperate Asia (25), or Tropical Asia (36), or Australasia (11), or Pacific (4), or North America (1), or South America (4).

[FZ]

Gramineae, T. A. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:4. 2002

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes short, in pairs, axillary, enclosed by the spatheoles, arranged in a dense, decompound, globose to elongated and ± interrupted spatheate false panicle; peduncles 0.5–2.5 mm long, flattened, reflexed at maturity; internodes and pedicels filiform, long-ciliate on both margins, the lowermost sometimes swollen, barrel-shaped and fused together; lowermost pair of spikelets in lower racemes homogamous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Sessile spikelet dorsally compressed, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly ovate; callus obtuse; inferior glume with a median groove, occasionally flat on the back, narrowly winged on the keels or sometimes with only scabrid flanges near the apex, awnless; inferior floret reduced to a hyaline lemma; superior floret fertile, the lemma deeply bilobed or entire, awned. Pedicelled spikelet male, ± the same length as the sessile spikelet, rounded on the back, awnless.

[FTEA]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips And S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974

Morphology General Habit
Tall robust perennials, rarely annuals
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades filiform to broadly linear, aromatic, with filiform tip; ligule membranous or scarious
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of paired racemes borne on a short common peduncle and ± enclosed by a boat-shaped spatheole, these densely crowded into a leafy false panicle which is often very large and complex; racemes short, each raceme borne upon a very short flattened raceme-base which is usually deflexed at maturity, the lowermost pair of spikelets in each raceme-pair homogamous and resembling the pedicelled; internodes and pedicels linear, or those of the homogamous pair (at the base of the lower raceme) swollen
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Sessile spikelet ± dorsally compressed; callus obtuse, inserted in the concave or cupular top of the internode; lower glume ± chartaceous, often streaked with oil glands, shallowly concave or with a V-shaped median groove (occasionally deeply concave or slightly convex), 2-keeled, the keels usually lateral and often winged near the apex, with or without intercarinal nerves; lower floret reduced to a hyaline lemma; upper lemma hyaline or stipitiform, bilobed (very rarely entire), with or without a glabrous awn from the sinus Pedicelled spikelet ♂ or barren ± as long as the sessile but never depressed on the back, awnless.
Sessile
Sessile spikelet ± dorsally compressed; callus obtuse, inserted in the concave or cupular top of the internode; lower glume ± chartaceous, often streaked with oil glands, shallowly concave or with a V-shaped median groove (occasionally deeply concave or slightly convex), 2-keeled, the keels usually lateral and often winged near the apex, with or without intercarinal nerves; lower floret reduced to a hyaline lemma; upper lemma hyaline or stipitiform, bilobed (very rarely entire), with or without a glabrous awn from the sinus
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis oblong, subterete to plano-convex
Pedicelled
Pedicelled spikelet ♂ or barren ± as long as the sessile but never depressed on the back, awnless.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Robust perennials, rarely annual
Morphology Leaves
Leaves usually aromatic
Morphology Leaves Ligules
Ligule membranous or scarious
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of short paired racemes borne on a short common peduncle and ± enclosed by a boat-shaped spatheole, these crowded into a leafy false panicle; raceme-bases short, flattened, usually deflexed, the lower bearing a homogamous spikelet-pair at the base; internodes linear, sometimes the pedicel of the homogamous pair swollen and ± fused to the internode
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Pedicelled spikelet male or barren, ± as long as the sessile but never concave on the back, awnless. Sessile spikelet dorsally compressed; callus obtuse, inserted in the concave top of the internode; lower glume ± chartaceous, concave, 2-keeled, the keels usually lateral and often winged near the tip, with or without intercarinal nerves; lower floret barren, reduced to a hyaline lemma; upper lemma hyaline or stipitiform, bilobed or rarely entire, with or without an awn from the sinus; caryopsis oblong, subterete to plano-convex
Distribution
Some 50 species in the Old World tropics and subtropics.

Native to:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Chad, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jawa, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Maluku, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, New Guinea, New South Wales, Niger, Nigeria, Norfolk Is., Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Ogasawara-shoto, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Queensland, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Victoria, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Australia, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

Aldabra, Argentina Northeast, Bahamas, Belize, Bismarck Archipelago, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Caroline Is., Chile North, Colombia, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Florida, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Gulf of Guinea Is., Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Jamaica, Kazan-retto, Leeward Is., Liberia, Maldives, Marianas, Marshall Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niue, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Society Is., Solomon Is., Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Windward Is.

Cymbopogon Spreng. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Janaki Amal, E.K. [4029], Jammu-Kashmir K000245885 Unknown type material

First published in Pl. Min. Cogn. Pug. 2: 14 (1815)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R.H.A. (2011). World checklist of selected plant families published update Facilitated by the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • F.T.A. 9: 265 (1919).
  • Pl. Pugill. 2: 14 (1815)

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Bor in J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51: 890–916 (1953)
  • Bor in J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 52: 149–183 (1954).
  • Clayton in Kew Bull. 19: 451–456 (1965).
  • Pl. Min. Cogn. Pug. 2: 14 (1815).
  • Roberty in Boissiera 9: 172–180 (1960).
  • Soenarko in Reinwardtia 9: 225–375 (1977).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 4, (1995) Author: by T. A. Cope [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Bor. in Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51: 890–916 (1953)
  • Bor. in Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 52: 149–183 (1954)
  • Pl. Pugill. 2: 14 (1815)
  • Soenarko in Reinwardtia 9: 225–375 (1977)

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0