Flora of North America species comparison

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Eragrostis bahiensis

Eragrostis unioloides

bahia lovegrass

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

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

10-50 cm, erect, 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.

Leaves

mostly basal;

sheaths mostly glabrous, apices pilose, hairs 0.4-3 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.2 mm, ciliate;

blades (1.8)5-12 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous and glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs appressed.
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.

6-15 cm long, 0.5-7 cm wide, ovate, open to contracted;

primary branches 0.2-5 cm, appressed or diverging up to 70° from the rachises, glabrous;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 2-8 mm, glabrous.
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.

4-8(10) mm long, (1.6)2-4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, loosely imbricate, straw-colored to purplish, with 12-42 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas not persistent, rachillas 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.

ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, hyaline to membranous;

lower glumes 1-1.8 mm;

upper glumes 1-2.2 mm;

lemmas 1.5-1.9 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, lateral veins raised, apices obtuse to acute;

paleas 1.4-1.9 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.2-0.4 mm, purplish.
Caryopses

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

0.6-0.9 mm, ellipsoid, laterally compressed, not grooved, smooth, light brown.
2n

= unknown.

= 20, ca. 30.

Eragrostis bahiensis

Eragrostis unioloides
Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; NJ; SC
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA; MD; HI
[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 unioloides is an Asian species that is now established in the southeastern United States, growing along roadsides and in disturbed ground, at 20-150 m.

(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. tef, E. trichodes, E. trichophora
Name authority (Schrad.) Schult. (Retz.) Nees 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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