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darnel lovegrass

teff

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular. Plants annual; loosely tufted, without innovations, without glands.
Culms

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

25-60 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny.

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.

mostly glabrous, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm, ciliate;

blades 10-30 cm long, 2-5.5 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially.

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.

10-45 cm long, 2.5-22 cm wide, ovate, open to contracted;

primary branches 4-17 cm, appressed or diverging up to 50° from the rachises, flexible, naked below;

pulvini glabrous or hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

pedicels 2.5-17 mm, appressed or divergent.

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.

4-11 mm long, 1.3-2.5 mm wide, linear-lanceolate to ovate, stramineous, grayish-green to purplish, with 4-16 florets;

disarticulation tardy, acropetal, caryopses falling before the glumes and lemmas, paleas persistent.

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.

lanceolate, membranous to hyaline;

lower glumes 1-2 mm;

upper glumes 1.5-2.8 mm;

lemmas 1.6-3 mm, lanceolate, membranous, apices acute;

paleas 1.4-2.2 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.5 mm, purplish.

Caryopses

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

0.7-1.3 mm, obovoid, not grooved, smooth, light brown to whitish.

Comm

.).

2n

= 36 (Davidse, pers.

= 40.

Eragrostis airoides

Eragrostis tef

Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NC; SC
[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 tef is native to northern Africa. In Ethiopia, it is used both as a grain and as fodder for cattle. It is also grown, but not commonly, for these purposes in the Flora region and is occasionally found as an escape from cultivation.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 103. FNA vol. 25, p. 85.
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. 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. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
Synonyms E. abyssinica
Name authority Nees (Zucc.) Trotter
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