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Mediterranean love grass

six-weeks love grass

Habit Plants annual; tufted, without innovations. Plants annual; tufted, without innovations.
Culms

(5)10-60 cm, erect or decumbent, much-branched near the base, with a ring of glandular tissue below the nodes, rings often shiny or yellowish.

(2)6-25 cm, usually erect, sometimes decumbent, glabrous, with elliptical, yellowish, glandular pits below the nodes.

Sheaths

hairy at the apices, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, ciliate;

blades 1.5-10 cm long, 1-3(5) mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces glabrous, sometimes scabridulous, occasionally with white hairs to 3 mm, margins without crateriform glands.

with elliptical glandular pits, sparsely hairy at the throat, hairs to 2 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, ciliate;

blades 2-12 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces scabridulous, bases with glandular pits.

Panicles

4-20 cm long, 2.2-8(10) cm wide, ovate, open to contracted, rachises with shiny or yellowish glandular spots or rings below the nodes;

primary branches 0.5-6 cm, diverging 20-100° from the rachises;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 1-4 mm, stout, stiff, divergent, without glandular bands.

terminal, 4-10(15) cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, narrowly elliptic, contracted, dense;

primary branches alternate, usually appressed, occasionally diverging to 30° from the rachises, rachises and branches with glandular pits;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 1.4-10 mm, appressed or divergent.

Spikelets

4-7(11) mm long, 1.1-2.2 mm wide, narrowly ovate, reddish-purple to greenish, occasionally grayish, with 7-12(20) florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

3.6-7.5 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide, narrowly ovate, light yellowish, occasionally mottled with reddish-purple, with 6-11(14) florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

Glumes

broadly ovate, membranous, 1-veined;

lower glumes 0.9-1.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.2-1.6 mm;

lemmas 1.4-1.8 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, apices acute to obtuse;

paleas 1.3-1.7 mm, hyaline, keels scabrous, scabridities to 0.1 mm, apices obtuse to acute;

anthers 3, 0.1-0.2 mm, reddish-brown.

subequal, ovate to lanceolate, hyaline;

lower glumes (0.7)0.9-1.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.2-1.8 mm;

lemmas 1.5-2.2 mm, ovate, subhyaline, stramineous, veins greenish and conspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1.2-2 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.3 mm, purplish.

Caryopses

0.4-0.7 mm, ellipsoid, not grooved, smooth to faintly striate, light brown.

0.5-0.8 mm, pyriform except slightly flattened adaxially, smooth, light brown.

2n

= 40.

= unknown.

Eragrostis barrelieri

Eragrostis lutescens

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AZ; CA; CO; FL; KS; LA; MA; MD; MO; NE; NM; NV; OK; SC; TN; TX; UT; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; WA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis barrelieri is a European species that is now naturalized in the Flora region, primarily in the south-western United States. It grows on gravelly roadsides, in gardens, and other disturbed, sandy sites, especially near railroad yards, at 10-2000 m. The ring of glandular tissue is most conspicuous below the upper cauline nodes.

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

Eragrostis lutescens grows on the sandy banks of streams and lakes and in moist alkaline flats of the western United States at 300-2000 m. It has not been reported from Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 83. FNA vol. 25, p. 79.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Eragrostis
Sibling taxa
E. airoides, E. amabilis, E. atrovirens, E. bahiensis, 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. 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 Daveau Scribn.
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