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stink grass, stinking lovegrass, éragrostide fétide

six-weeks love grass

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

15-45(65) cm, erect or decumbent, sometimes with crateriform glands below the nodes.

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

Sheaths

glabrous, occasionally glandular, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.4-0.8 mm, ciliate;

blades (1)5-20 cm long, (1)3-5(10) mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, sometimes glandular, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, occasionally also hairy.

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

(3)5-16(20) cm long, 2-8.5 cm wide, oblong to ovate, condensed to open;

primary branches 0.4-5 cm, appressed or diverging 20-80° from the rachises;

pulvini glabrous or hairy;

pedicels 0.2-3 mm, stout, straight, stiff, usually divergent, occasionally appressed.

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

6-20 mm long, 2-4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous, greenish, with 10-40 florets;

disarticulation below the florets, each floret falling as a unit, rachillas 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 to lanceolate, membranous, usually glandular;

lower glumes 1.2-2 mm, usually 1-veined;

upper glumes 1.2-2.6 mm, often 3-veined;

lemmas 2-2.8 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, keels with 1-3 crateriform glands, apices obtuse to acute;

paleas 1.2-2.1 mm, hyaline, keels scabrous, sometimes also ciliate, cilia to 0.3 mm, apices obtuse to acute;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.5 mm, yellow.

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

0.5-0.7 mm, globose to broadly ellipsoid, smooth to faintly striate, not grooved, reddish-brown or translucent.

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

2n

= 20.

= unknown.

Eragrostis cilianensis

Eragrostis lutescens

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; AB; BC; MB; NS; ON; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; WA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis cilianensis is an introduced European species that now grows in disturbed sites such as pastures and roadsides, at 0-2300 m, through most of the contiguous United States and southern Canada. The English name refers to the odor of fresh plants.

(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. barrelieri, E. capillaris, 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
Synonyms E. megastachya, E. major
Name authority (All.) Vignolo ex Janch Scribn.
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