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plains lovegrass

teff

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular. Plants annual; loosely tufted, without innovations, without glands.
Culms

(30)40-90(110) cm, erect, glabrous below the nodes.

25-60 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny.

Sheaths

sparsely pilose on the margins, apices hairy, hairs to 8 mm, not papillose-based;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;

blades (4)10-20(30) cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat or involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces densely hairy behind the ligules, elsewhere usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely hairy.

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.

Panicles

15-40 cm long, (8.5)15-30 cm wide, ovate, open;

primary branches 4-25 cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, capillary;

pulvini hairy or glabrous;

pedicels 2-14 mm, divergent.

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.

Spikelets

3-7 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, olivaceous to purplish, with (3)5-11 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

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.

Glumes

lanceolate to ovate, hyaline to membranous;

lower glumes 1.1-1.7 mm, narrower than the upper glumes;

upper glumes 1.3-2 mm, apices acuminate to acute;

lemmas 1.6-2.2 mm, ovate, membranous, hyaline near the margins, lateral veins inconspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1.4-2.1 mm, hyaline, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse to acute;

anthers 3, 0.5-0.8 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.

Caryopses

0.5-0.9 mm, rectangular-prismatic, somewhat laterally compressed, with a well-developed adaxial groove, striate, opaque, reddish-brown.

0.7-1.3 mm, obovoid, not grooved, smooth, light brown to whitish.

2n

= ca. 54, 60, 72, ca. 74, 80, 100, 120.

= 40.

Eragrostis intermedia

Eragrostis tef

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; FL; GA; KS; LA; MA; ME; MO; MS; NC; NM; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NC; SC
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis intermedia grows in clay, sandy, and rocky soils, often in disturbed sites, at 0-1850 m. Its range extends from the United States through Mexico and Central America to South America. Eragrostis intermedia is similar to the more widespread E. lugens, but differs from that species in having wider spikelets, longer lemmas, and caryopses with a prominent adaxial groove.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 97. 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. hypnoides, 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. trichodes, E. trichophora, E. unioloides
Synonyms E. abyssinica
Name authority Hitchc. (Zucc.) Trotter
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