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weeping love grass

slimflower lovegrass

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, forming innovations at the basal nodes, without glands. Plants annual; tufted, without innovations, without glands.
Culms

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

(12)25-75 cm, usually erect, sometimes geniculate and branched below, glabrous, reddish.

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 usually with 0.3-2.2 mm hairs;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm, ciliate;

blades (5)7-17 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat to folded basally, involute apically, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, sometimes with scattered hairs near the base.

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.

(6)11-21 cm long, 1-13 cm wide, ovate to somewhat contracted, open;

primary branches 0.5-12 cm, (12)15-20 per culm, appressed or diverging up to 60° from the rachises, often capillary, naked near the base;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 0.3-5 mm, mostly appressed.

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.

2-4.6 mm long, 0.9-2 mm wide, narrowly ovate, greenish-yellow to plumbeous and with a reddish-purple tinge, with 5-15 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

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.

lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 0.4-0.9 mm;

upper glumes 1-1.3 mm, occasionally 3-veined;

lemmas 1-1.3 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, often reddish-purple, lateral veins conspicuous, often greenish, apices acute;

paleas 0.9-1.1 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.1-0.2 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.

0.3-0.5 mm, subglobose to obovoid, not grooved, translucent, faintly striate, reddish-brown.

2n

= 40, 50.

= 80.

Eragrostis curvula

Eragrostis gangetica

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
FL; LA; MS
[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 gangetica is an Asian species that now grows in the southeastern United States. It can be found in the sandy margins of ponds, roadsides, and ditches, at 0-100 m, usually in association with Pinus, Taxodium distichum, Rynchospora, and Steinchisma hians. Eragrostis gangetica is similar to E. bahiensis, but differs from that species in its annual habit and shorter spikelets, lemmas, anthers, and caryopses.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 76. FNA vol. 25, p. 87.
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. atrovirens, 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. 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 E. stenophylla, E. flamignii
Name authority (Schrad.) Nees (Roxb.) Steud.
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