Flora of North America species comparison

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Eragrostis airoides

Eragrostis atrovirens

darnel lovegrass

thalia lovegrass
Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular. Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular.
Culms

30-110 cm, erect, glabrous below the nodes.

(60)75-130 cm, erect.
Sheaths

glabrous or pilose, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.2 mm;

blades 8-22 mm long, (1)2-4(5) mm wide, flat to folded, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially.

glabrous, apices hairy, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.3 mm;

blades (5)8-20 cm long, (1)2-3(4) mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces mostly scabridulous, long ciliate basally.
Panicles

18-70 cm long, 3-25 cm wide, diffuse, ovate;

primary branches 4-20 cm, appressed or diverging 10-70° from the rachises, naked basally;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 2.4-11 mm, divergent.

(7)10-20(28) cm long, (2.5)4-15 cm wide, ovate, open;

primary branches (3)5-10(13) cm, diverging 20-60° from the rachises, wiry, somewhat capillary, naked basally;

pulvini glabrous or sparingly hairy, hairs shorter than 2 mm;

pedicels 1-10 mm, appressed, scabridulous.
Spikelets

1.3-2 mm long, 0.8-1.8 mm wide, ovate to lanceolate, plumbeous, with 1-3 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, in the rachilla below the florets, glumes deciduous;

rachilla prolonged above the terminal floret.

5-10(19) mm long, 1.4-2.4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous to purplish, with 10-22 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, glumes first, then the florets.
Glumes

lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 0.8-1 mm;

upper glumes 1.1-1.4 mm;

lemmas 0.8-1.2 mm, ovate, membranous, plumbeous, keels and lateral veins inconspicuous, apices obtuse;

paleas 0.8-1.2 mm, membranous, bases not projecting beyond the lemmas, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.3-0.5 mm, purplish.

subequal, lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 1.2-1.4 mm, narrower than the upper glumes;

upper glumes 1.4-1.7 mm;

lemmas (1.5)1.7-2 mm, broadly ovate, leathery, keels scabridu-lous, lateral veins evident, apices acute;

paleas 1.4-1.9 mm, hyaline, bases not projecting beyond the lemmas, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.7-0.9 mm, reddish-purple.
Caryopses

0.4-0.5 mm, ovoid, reticulate, reddish-brown.

0.6-0.9 mm, obovoid to ellipsoid, terete, opaque, somewhat striate, reddish-brown.
Comm

.).

2n

= 36 (Davidse, pers.

= 60.

Eragrostis airoides

Eragrostis atrovirens
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis airoides is a South American species that, in the Flora region, is known only from roadsides and disturbed sites in Brazos County, Texas. It is an enigmatic species, often treated as Sporobolus brasiliensis (Raddi) Hack., which it resembles in its chromosome base number of x = 9 and caryopsis morphology, but its frequent possession of spikelets with more than 1 floret and its mode of spikelet disarticulation argue for its retention in Eragrostis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Eragrostis atrovirens is native to northern Africa, but it is now established in southeastern United States, where it grows along railways and roads, on beaches and in ditches, often in wet sandy soils and in association with Pinus, Taxodium, and Sabal.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 103. FNA vol. 25, p. 103.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis
Sibling taxa
E. amabilis, E. atrovirens, E. bahiensis, E. barrelieri, E. capillaris, E. cilianensis, E. ciliaris, E. cumingii, E. curtipedicellata, E. curvula, E. cylindriflora, E. echinochloidea, E. elliottii, E. elongata, E. erosa, E. frankii, E. gangetica, E. hirsuta, E. hypnoides, E. intermedia, E. japonica, E. lehmanniana, E. lugens, E. lutescens, E. mexicana, E. minor, E. obtusiflora, E. palmeri, E. pectinacea, E. pilosa, E. plana, E. polytricha, E. prolifera, E. refracta, E. reptans, E. scaligera, E. secundiflora, E. sessilispica, E. setifolia, E. silveana, E. spectabilis, E. spicata, E. superba, E. swallenii, E. tef, E. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
E. airoides, E. amabilis, E. bahiensis, E. barrelieri, E. capillaris, E. cilianensis, E. ciliaris, E. cumingii, E. curtipedicellata, E. curvula, E. cylindriflora, E. echinochloidea, E. elliottii, E. elongata, E. erosa, E. frankii, E. gangetica, E. hirsuta, E. hypnoides, E. intermedia, E. japonica, E. lehmanniana, E. lugens, E. lutescens, E. mexicana, E. minor, E. obtusiflora, E. palmeri, E. pectinacea, E. pilosa, E. plana, E. polytricha, E. prolifera, E. refracta, E. reptans, E. scaligera, E. secundiflora, E. sessilispica, E. setifolia, E. silveana, E. spectabilis, E. spicata, E. superba, E. swallenii, E. tef, E. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
Name authority Nees (Desf.) Trin. ex Steud.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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