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weeping love grass

eragrostide poilue, India lovegrass, Indian love grass

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

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

8-45(70) cm, erect or geniculate, glabrous, occasionally with a few glandular depressions.

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.

mostly glabrous, occasionally glandular, apices hirsute, hairs to 3 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.3 mm, ciliate;

blades 2-15(20) cm long, 1-2.5(4) mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, occasionally with glandular pits along the midrib, adaxial surfaces scabridulous.

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.

4-20(28) cm long, 2-15(18) cm wide, ellipsoid to ovoid, diffuse;

primary branches 1-10 cm, diverging 10-80°(110°) from the rachises, capillary, whorled on the lowest 2 nodes, rarely glandular;

pulvini glabrous or hairy;

pedicels 1-10 mm, flexible, appressed or divergent.

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)3.5-6(10) mm long, 0.6-1.4 mm wide, linear-oblong to narrowly ovate, plumbeous, with (3)5-17 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas tardily deciduous, rachillas persisting longer than the paleas.

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.

narrowly ovate to lanceolate, hyaline;

lower glumes 0.3-0.6(0.8) mm;

upper glumes 0.7-1.2(1.4) mm;

lemmas 1.2-1.8(2) mm, ovate-lanceolate, membranous to hyaline, grayish-green proximally, reddish-purple distally, lateral veins inconspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1-1.6 mm, membranous to hyaline, keels scabridulous to scabrous, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.2-0.3 mm, purplish.

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.

0.5-1 mm, obovoid to prism-shaped, adaxial surfaces flat, smooth to faintly striate, light brown.

2n

= 40, 50.

= 40.

Eragrostis curvula

Eragrostis pilosa

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
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from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; PR; BC; NS; ON; QC; Virgin Islands
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[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 pilosa is native to Eurasia but has become naturalized in many parts of the world. In the Flora region, it grows in forest margins and disturbed sites such as roadsides, railroad embankments, gardens, and cultivated fields, at 0-2500 m.

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

Key
1. Plants with numerous glandular pits scattered over the whole plant, especially on the midribs of the sheaths and blades; lemmas 1.8-2 mm long
var. perplexa
1. Plants with a few glandular pits scattered on the culms or without any glandular pits; lemmas 1.2-1.8 mm long
var. pilosa
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 76. FNA vol. 25, p. 81.
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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
E. pilosa var. perplexa, E. pilosa var. pilosa
Synonyms E. curvula var. conferta, E. chloromelas E. peregrina, E. perplexa, E. multicaulis
Name authority (Schrad.) Nees (L.) P. Beauv.
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