Flora of North America species comparison

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Eragrostis bahiensis

Eragrostis tef

bahia lovegrass

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

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

25-60 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny.
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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 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, 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

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

0.7-1.3 mm, obovoid, not grooved, smooth, light brown to whitish.
2n

= unknown.

= 40.

Eragrostis bahiensis

Eragrostis tef
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; NJ; SC
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NC; SC
[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 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. 101. FNA vol. 25, p. 85.
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. sessilispica, E. setifolia, E. silveana, E. spectabilis, E. spicata, E. superba, E. swallenii, E. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
Synonyms E. abyssinica
Name authority (Schrad.) Schult. (Zucc.) Trotter
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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