Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis tef
gophertail lovegrass
teff
(3)9-75 cm, erect or geniculate in the lower portion, not rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous.
25-60 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny.
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.
mostly glabrous, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;
ligules 0.2-0.4 mm, ciliate;
blades 10-30 cm long, 2-5.5 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially.
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.
10-45 cm long, 2.5-22 cm wide, ovate, open to contracted;
primary branches 4-17 cm, appressed or diverging up to 50° from the rachises, flexible, naked below;
pulvini glabrous or hairy, hairs to 5 mm;
pedicels 2.5-17 mm, appressed or divergent.
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.
4-11 mm long, 1.3-2.5 mm wide, linear-lanceolate to ovate, stramineous, grayish-green to purplish, with 4-16 florets;
disarticulation tardy, acropetal, caryopses falling before the glumes and 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, membranous to hyaline;
lower glumes 1-2 mm;
upper glumes 1.5-2.8 mm;
lemmas 1.6-3 mm, lanceolate, membranous, apices acute;
paleas 1.4-2.2 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices obtuse;
anthers 3, 0.2-0.5 mm, purplish.
0.4-0.5 mm, ovoid, reddish-brown.
0.7-1.3 mm, obovoid, not grooved, smooth, light brown to whitish.
= 20, 40.
= 40.
Eragrostis ciliaris
Eragrostis tef
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 tef is native to northern Africa. In Ethiopia, it is used both as a grain and as fodder for cattle. It is also grown, but not commonly, for these purposes in the Flora region and is occasionally found as an escape from cultivation.
(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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