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creeping love grass, teal love grass, teel lovegrass, éragrostide hypnoide

Chinese lovegrass

Habit Plants annual; stoloniferous, mat-forming, without innovations, without glands. Plants annual; tufted, without innovations, without glands.
Culms

decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, erect portion (2)5-12(20) cm, often branched, glabrous or hairy on the lower internodes.

10-50 cm, erect, glabrous below the nodes.

Sheaths

pilose on the margins, collars, and at the apices, hairs 0.1-0.6 mm;

ligules 0.3-0.6 mm;

blades 0.5-2.5 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces appressed pubescent, hairs about 0.2 mm.

Leaves

mostly basal;

sheaths mostly glabrous, apices pilose, hairs 0.4-3 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.2 mm, ciliate;

blades (1.8)5-12 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous and glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs appressed.

Panicles

terminal and axillary, 1-3.5 cm long, 0.7-2.5 cm wide, ovate, open to somewhat congested;

primary branches 0.1-0.5 cm, appressed to strongly divergent, glabrous;

pulvini sparsely pilose or glabrous;

pedicels 0.2-1 mm, ciliate.

6-15 cm long, 0.5-7 cm wide, ovate, open to contracted;

primary branches 0.2-5 cm, appressed or diverging up to 70° from the rachises, glabrous;

pulvini glabrous;

pedicels 2-8 mm, glabrous.

Spikelets

4-13 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, linear-oblong, often arcuate, loosely imbricate, greenish-yellow to purplish, with 12-35 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

4-8(10) mm long, (1.6)2-4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, loosely imbricate, straw-colored to purplish, with 12-42 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas not persistent, rachillas persistent.

Glumes

linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, hyaline;

lower glumes 0.4-0.7 mm;

upper glumes 0.8-1.2 mm;

lemmas 1.4-2 mm, ovate, strongly 3-veined, veins greenish, apices acuminate;

paleas 0.7-1.2 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.2-0.3 mm, brownish.

ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, hyaline to membranous;

lower glumes 1-1.8 mm;

upper glumes 1-2.2 mm;

lemmas 1.5-1.9 mm, broadly ovate, membranous, lateral veins raised, apices obtuse to acute;

paleas 1.4-1.9 mm, hyaline, keels scabridulous, apices acute to obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.2-0.4 mm, purplish.

Caryopses

0.3-0.5 mm, ellipsoid, somewhat translucent, light brown.

0.6-0.9 mm, ellipsoid, laterally compressed, not grooved, smooth, light brown.

2n

= 20.

= 20, ca. 30.

Eragrostis hypnoides

Eragrostis unioloides

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; PR; MB; ON; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA; MD; HI
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis hypnoides grows along muddy or sandy shores of lakes and rivers and in moist, disturbed sites, at 10-1600 m. It is native to the Americas, extending from southern Canada to Argentina.

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

Eragrostis unioloides is an Asian species that is now established in the southeastern United States, growing along roadsides and in disturbed ground, at 20-150 m.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 72. FNA vol. 25, p. 85.
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. curvula, E. cylindriflora, E. echinochloidea, E. elliottii, E. elongata, E. erosa, E. frankii, E. gangetica, E. hirsuta, 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. 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
Synonyms E. weigeltiana
Name authority (Lam.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. (Retz.) Nees ex Steud.
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