Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis erosa
gophertail lovegrass
Chihuahua lovegrass, Chihuahuan lovegrass
(3)9-75 cm, erect or geniculate in the lower portion, not rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous.
70-110 cm, erect, glabrous below the 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.
hairy at the apices and sometimes on the upper margins, hairs to 4 mm, not papillose-based;
ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;
blades (8)12-30 cm long, 1.5-3.8 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs to 4 mm.
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.
25-45 cm long, (5)12-30 cm wide, broadly ovate, open;
primary branches mostly 4-20 cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, capillary, sinuous;
pulvini glabrous or hairy;
pedicels 1-18 mm, appressed or divergent, proximal spikelets on each branch usually with pedicels shorter than 5 mm.
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.
5-9 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, lanceolate, plumbeous, with 5-12 florets;
disarticulation acropetal, glumes first, then 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.
lanceolate to ovate, membranous;
lower glumes 1.3-2.4 mm;
upper glumes 1.6-2.6 mm;
lemmas 2.4-3 mm, ovate, mostly membranous, hyaline near the margins and apices, lateral veins inconspicuous, apices acute;
paleas 1.5-3 mm, hyaline, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse to truncate;
anthers 3, 0.6-1.7 mm, purplish.
0.4-0.5 mm, ovoid, reddish-brown.
0.8-1.6 mm, subellipsoid, terete to somewhat laterally compressed, with a well-developed adaxial groove, faintly striate, opaque, reddish-brown.
= 20, 40.
= unknown.
Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis erosa
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 erosa grows on rocky slopes and hills, at 1200-2300 m, often in association with Pinus edulis, Juniperus monosperma, and Bouteloua gracilis. Its range extends from New Mexico and western Texas to northern Mexico.
(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 |
LA Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
