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weeping love grass

thalia lovegrass

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, forming innovations at the basal nodes, without glands. Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular.
Culms

(45)60-150 cm, erect, glabrous or glandular.

(60)75-130 cm, erect.

Sheaths

with scattered hairs, hairs to 9 mm;

ligules 0.6-1.3 mm;

blades 12-50(65) cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, sometimes scabridulous, adaxial surfaces with scattered hairs basally, hairs to 7 mm.

glabrous, apices hairy, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.3 mm;

blades (5)8-20 cm long, (1)2-3(4) mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces mostly scabridulous, long ciliate basally.

Panicles

16-35(40) cm long, (4)8-24 cm wide, ovate to oblong, open;

primary branches 3-14 cm, diverging 10-80° from the rachises;

pulvini glabrous or not;

pedicels 0.5-5 mm, appressed, flexible.

(7)10-20(28) cm long, (2.5)4-15 cm wide, ovate, open;

primary branches (3)5-10(13) cm, diverging 20-60° from the rachises, wiry, somewhat capillary, naked basally;

pulvini glabrous or sparingly hairy, hairs shorter than 2 mm;

pedicels 1-10 mm, appressed, scabridulous.

Spikelets

4-8.2(10) mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, plumbeous to yellowish, with 3-10 florets;

disarticulation irregular to acropetal, proximal rachilla segments persistent.

5-10(19) mm long, 1.4-2.4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous to purplish, with 10-22 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, glumes first, then the florets.

Glumes

lanceolate, hyaline;

lower glumes 1.2-2.6 mm;

upper glumes 2-3 mm;

lemmas 1.8-3 mm, ovate, membranous, lateral veins conspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1.8-3 mm, hyaline to membranous, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.6-1.2 mm, reddish-brown.

subequal, lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 1.2-1.4 mm, narrower than the upper glumes;

upper glumes 1.4-1.7 mm;

lemmas (1.5)1.7-2 mm, broadly ovate, leathery, keels scabridu-lous, lateral veins evident, apices acute;

paleas 1.4-1.9 mm, hyaline, bases not projecting beyond the lemmas, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.7-0.9 mm, reddish-purple.

Caryopses

1-1.7 mm, ellipsoid to obovoid, dorsally compressed, adaxial surfaces with a shallow, broad groove or ungrooved, smooth, mostly translucent, light brown, bases often greenish.

0.6-0.9 mm, obovoid to ellipsoid, terete, opaque, somewhat striate, reddish-brown.

2n

= 40, 50.

= 60.

Eragrostis curvula

Eragrostis atrovirens

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; DE; FL; GA; IL; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WV; HI; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis curvula is native to southern Africa. It is often used for reclamation because it provides good ground cover but, once introduced, it easily escapes. In the Flora region, it grows on rocky slopes, at the margins of woods, along roadsides, and in waste ground, at 20-2400 m, usually in pine-oak woodlands, and yellow pine and mixed hardwood forests.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Eragrostis atrovirens is native to northern Africa, but it is now established in southeastern United States, where it grows along railways and roads, on beaches and in ditches, often in wet sandy soils and in association with Pinus, Taxodium, and Sabal.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 76. FNA vol. 25, p. 103.
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. cilianensis, E. ciliaris, E. cumingii, E. curtipedicellata, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms E. curvula var. conferta, E. chloromelas
Name authority (Schrad.) Nees (Desf.) Trin. ex Steud.
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