Pennisetum purpureum is a species of grass

Poaceae

The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...

 native to the tropical grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

s of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. It is a tall perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

, growing to 2–4.5 m (6.6–14.8 ft) tall, rarely up to 7.5 metres (24.6 ft), with leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 30–120 cm (11.8–47.2 in) long and 1–5 cm (0.393700787401575–2 in) broad.

The name Elephant grass derives from it being a favourite food of elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

s.

Biofuel

It can be killed with a light layer of frost but is usually harvested before winter so it can be burnt in power plants. It has a very high productivity as a biofuel

Biofuel

Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...

 crop.

Biological pest control

It has been proposed as a countermeasure

Countermeasure

A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept it implies precision, and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process...

 to the corn borer in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, since it attracts and traps the pest. See Push-pull technology

Push-pull technology

The push–pull technology is a strategy for controlling agricultural pests by using repellent "push" plants and trap "pull" plants. For example, cereal crops like maize or sorghum are often infested by stem borers...

Erosion control

It was planted in Kenya on artificial terraces helping to stop erosion, according to John Seymour.

Phytoremediation plant

ABC Science reports that "A team of Australian and Chinese scientists claims to have pioneered a method, using it as a Phytoremediation

Phytoremediation

Phytoremediation Phytoremediation Phytoremediation (from the Ancient Greek , and Latin (restoring balance or remediation) describes the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the...

plant, to decontaminate polluted land and provide an ecologically renewable energy resource in the process."