Cenchrus squamulatus

The genus Pennisetum [Cenchrus] is included in Annex 1 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use (FAO 2009).

No germplasm accessions are reported to be held in European genebanks (EURISCO Catalogue 2013). However, two accessions of this species are held in the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS, in the USA), but neither are of wild origin or backed up at a second site (USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program 2014). The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) holds two accessions of wild origin for this species (ICRISAT 2014). In addition, one accession (200 seeds) is duplicated and conserved ex situ in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV Data Portal 2013). According to Botanical Garden Conservation International (BGCI 2013) this species has a living collection in one botanical garden worldwide, although the size, state, origin and location of the collections are not detailed in this resource (garden locations are undisclosed to protect rare and valuable plant species).

Maxted and Kell (2009) identify the need for a detailed ecogeographic survey to be carried out for this species to establish current distribution and priority sites for in situ conservation.