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bahia lovegrass

tumble lovegrass

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

25-95(110) cm, erect, glabrous.

30-90 cm, erect or decumbent, glabrous below the nodes.

Sheaths

glabrous, summits hairy, hairs 1-3 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;

blades (8)12-40 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous and glabrous or long ciliate basally.

hairy at the apices and on the collars, sometimes also on the distal portion of the margins, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.4-0.5 mm;

blades 5-30 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, usually involute, sometimes flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely pilose, hairs to 5 mm, adaxial surfaces scabridulous.

Panicles

terminal, 15-30(45) cm long, (4)8-17 cm wide, narrowly ovate, open to contracted;

primary branches 5-15 cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, often capillary, usually naked basally;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 0.3-6 mm, mostly appressed, scabridulous, always shorter than the spikelets.

20-65 cm long, 10-35 cm wide, ovate, open;

primary branches 2-20(24) cm, widely spaced, diverging 20-100° from the rachises, not rebranched, naked basally;

pulvini hairy;

pedicels 0-12 mm, appressed, proximal spikelets on each branch sessile or subsessile, the pedicels shorter than 0.4 mm.

Spikelets

6-15(18) mm long, 1.3-2(2.2) mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, plumbeous, occasionally with a reddish-purple tinge, with 8-30(40) florets;

disarticulation usually in the rachilla below the florets, occasionally the lemmas falling separately, leaving the paleas on the rachilla.

5-13 mm long, 1.4-3 mm wide, oblong to oblanceolate, stramineous to reddish-purple, with 3-12 florets;

disarticulation tardy, basipetal, in the rachilla below the florets, glumes persistent.

Glumes

lanceolate to ovate, membranous to subhyaline, keeled;

lower glumes 1-1.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.4-1.7 mm;

lemmas 1.5-2.2 mm, broadly ovate, leathery, scabridulous, lateral veins evident, apices acute;

paleas 1.4-2.1 mm, hyaline, bases not projecting beyond the lemmas, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.4-0.6 mm, reddish-purple.

lanceolate, broad basally, indurate;

lower glumes 2.5-6 mm;

upper glumes 3-6 mm, apices acuminate;

lemmas 3-5 mm, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, indurate, apices acuminate;

paleas 2.4-4.6 mm, indurate, gibbous basally but the sides not projecting beyond the lemmas, keels ciliolate, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.3-0.5 mm, reddish-brown.

Caryopses

0.6-0.8 mm, obovoid to ellipsoid, terete, somewhat striate, reddish-brown.

0.9-1.5 mm, ovoid to pyriform, laterally flattened, tapering distally, smooth to faintly striate, brownish.

2n

= unknown.

= 40.

Eragrostis bahiensis

Eragrostis sessilispica

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; NJ; SC
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
KS; NM; OK; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis bahiensis grows in sandy soils near river banks, lake shores, and roadsides, at 0-200 m. Its range extends south from the Gulf Coast of the United States through Mexico to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

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

Eragrostis sessilispica grows in prairies, limestone mesas, partial forest openings, and grasslands, generally in sandy soils, at 0-1220 m, often in association with Prosopsis and Quercus. Its range extends into northern Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 101. FNA vol. 25, p. 103.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis
Sibling taxa
E. airoides, E. amabilis, E. atrovirens, 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. setifolia, E. silveana, E. spectabilis, E. spicata, E. superba, E. swallenii, E. tef, E. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
Name authority (Schrad.) Schult. Buckley
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