Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis scaligera
gophertail lovegrass
tender lovegrass
(3)9-75 cm, erect or geniculate in the lower portion, not rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous.
25-75 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.
glabrous or with hairy apices, hairs to 4 mm;
ligules 0.1-0.3 mm, ciliate;
blades 4-8(18) cm long, 1-2 mm wide, involute, frequently deciduous, adaxial surfaces mostly glabrous, sometimes pilose 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.
terminal and axillary;
terminal panicles 5-15 cm long, (1)2-10(12) cm wide, narrowly ovate, open;
axillary panicles 2-5 cm long, 0.3-0.6 cm wide, usually contracted and partially to completely enclosed by the subtending sheath;
primary branches 1-10 cm, appressed or diverging up to 90° from the rachises, wiry;
pulvini glabrous or hairy;
pedicels 0.3-5 mm, appressed, flattened.
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.
6-15(27) mm long, 1.6-2.4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous to greenish, often with a reddish-purple tinge, with 10-35(45) 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 1.4-2.1 mm;
upper glumes 1.6-2.2 mm;
lemmas (1.7)2-2.5 mm, broadly ovate, leathery, apices acute to acuminate;
paleas 1.1-1.7 mm, hyaline, apices obtuse to truncate;
anthers 2, 0.3-0.7 mm, reddish-purple.
0.4-0.5 mm, ovoid, reddish-brown.
0.5-0.6 mm, globose, not grooved, smooth, light reddish-brown.
= 20, 40.
= 40.
Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis scaligera
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 scaligera is known from Lee and Collier counties, Florida, where it grows in sandy areas in the coastal scrub zone and along adjacent roadsides, at 0-10 m. It is native to French Guiana and Brazil.
(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
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USDA Plants Database
