Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis elliottii
gophertail lovegrass
Elliott's lovegrass, field lovegrass
(3)9-75 cm, erect or geniculate in the lower portion, not rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous.
25-80 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny below the basal nodes.
hairy on the margins and at the apices, hairs to 4 mm;
ligules 0.2-0.5 mm;
blades 1.8-12(15) cm long, 2-5 mm wide, usually flat, occasionally involute, glabrous or ciliate basally.
sparsely hairy at the apices, hairs to 6 mm;
ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;
blades 6-30(52) cm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, sometimes with a few scattered hairs near the base.
1.7-15 cm long, 0.2-5 cm wide, cylindrical, contracted or open, branches usually forming glomerate lobes, sometimes more open, often interrupted in the lower portion;
primary branches 0.4-4 cm, appressed or diverging to 50° from the rachises;
pulvini usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely pilose;
pedicels 0.1-1 mm, erect, shorter than the spikelets, glabrous.
(25)30-60 cm long, 15—45 cm wide, broadly ovate to obovate, open, diffuse;
primary branches mostly 5-25(32) cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, capillary;
pulvini hairy;
pedicels (4)10-35(50) mm, widely diverging, capillary, all the pedicels on each branch longer than the spikelets.
1.8-3.2 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, elliptical-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, yellowish-brown, sometimes with a purple tinge, with 6-11 florets;
disarticulation basipetal, glumes peristent.
4-18 mm long, 1.4-3 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, grayish-green or stramineous to purplish, with (6)9-30 florets;
disarticulation acropetal, below the lemmas, paleas persistent.
ovate to lanceolate, keels scabridulous, veins commonly green, apices acute;
lower glumes 0.7-1.2 mm;
upper glumes 1-1.6 mm;
lemmas 0.8-1.3 mm, elliptical-ovate to lanceolate, membranous, keels scabridulous, lateral veins evident, apices obtuse to acute;
paleas 0.8-1.3 mm, membranous, keels prominently ciliate, cilia 0.2-0.8 mm, apices obtuse to acute;
anthers 2, 0.1-0.3 mm, purplish.
narrowly lanceolate, membranous;
lower glumes 1.1-3.4 mm;
upper glumes 1.6-3.4 mm, apices acuminate;
lemmas 1.8-4.4 mm, lanceolate, membranous, lateral veins evident to inconspicuous, sometimes greenish, apices acute to acuminate;
paleas 1.1-3.5 mm, hyaline to membranous, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse;
anthers 2, 0.3-0.8 mm, purplish or brownish.
0.4-0.5 mm, ovoid, reddish-brown.
0.6-0.8 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, finely striate, reddish-brown.
= 20, 40.
= unknown.
Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis elliottii
Eragrostis ciliaris is native to the paleotropics. It is naturalized in parts of the United States, growing along roadsides, on waste sites, in xerothermic vegetation, and sometimes in saline habitats, at 0-200 m. It may be more widespread than indicated.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Eragrostis elliottii grows in sandy pinelands and live-oak woodlands on the coastal plain, at 0-150 m. Its range extends from the southeastern United States through the West Indies and Gulf coast of Mexico to Central and South America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Panicles 0.2-1.5 cm wide, contracted, the branches mostly appressed to the rachises, congested, forming glomerate lobes; spikelets densely packed | var. ciliaris |
1. Panicles 1.5-5 cm wide, open, the branches spreading 20-50° from the rachises; spikelets widely separated from each other | var. laxa |
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