Eragrostis lehmanniana
Eragrostis sessilispica
Lehmann lovegrass, Lehmann's love grass
tumble lovegrass
(20)40-80 cm, erect, commonly geniculate, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous, lower portions sometimes scabridulous.
30-90 cm, erect or decumbent, glabrous below the nodes.
sometimes shortly silky pilose basally, hairs less than 2 mm, apices sparsely hairy, hairs to 3 mm;
ligules 0.3-0.5 mm, ciliate;
blades 2-12 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous, abaxial surfaces sometimes scabridulous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous.
hairy at the apices and on the collars, sometimes also on the distal portion of the margins, hairs to 5 mm;
ligules 0.4-0.5 mm;
blades 5-30 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, usually involute, sometimes flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely pilose, hairs to 5 mm, adaxial surfaces scabridulous.
7-18 cm long, 2-8 cm wide, oblong, open;
primary branches 1-8 cm, appressed or diverging to 40° from the rachises;
pulvini glabrous;
pedicels 0.5-4 mm, diverging or appressed, flexible.
20-65 cm long, 10-35 cm wide, ovate, open;
primary branches 2-20(24) cm, widely spaced, diverging 20-100° from the rachises, not rebranched, naked basally;
pulvini hairy;
pedicels 0-12 mm, appressed, proximal spikelets on each branch sessile or subsessile, the pedicels shorter than 0.4 mm.
5-12(14) mm long, 0.8-1.2 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, plumbeous to stramineous, with 4-12(14) florets;
disarticulation irregular to basipetal, paleas usually persistent.
5-13 mm long, 1.4-3 mm wide, oblong to oblanceolate, stramineous to reddish-purple, with 3-12 florets;
disarticulation tardy, basipetal, in the rachilla below the florets, glumes persistent.
oblong to lanceolate, membranous;
lower glumes 1-1.5 mm;
upper glumes 1.3-2 mm;
lemmas 1.5-1.7 mm, ovate, membranous, lateral veins inconspicuous, apices acute to obtuse;
paleas 1.4-1.7 mm, obtuse;
anthers 3, 0.6-0.9 mm, yellowish.
lanceolate, broad basally, indurate;
lower glumes 2.5-6 mm;
upper glumes 3-6 mm, apices acuminate;
lemmas 3-5 mm, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, indurate, apices acuminate;
paleas 2.4-4.6 mm, indurate, gibbous basally but the sides not projecting beyond the lemmas, keels ciliolate, apices obtuse;
anthers 3, 0.3-0.5 mm, reddish-brown.
0.6-0.8 mm, ellipsoid to obovoid, dorsally compressed, sometimes with a shallow adaxial groove, smooth, translucent, mostly light brown, embryo region dark brown with a greenish ring.
0.9-1.5 mm, ovoid to pyriform, laterally flattened, tapering distally, smooth to faintly striate, brownish.
= 40, 60.
= 40.
Eragrostis lehmanniana
Eragrostis sessilispica
Eragrostis lehmanniana is native to southern Africa, where it grows in sandy, savannah habitats. It was introduced for erosion control in the southern United States, where it often displaces native species. In the Flora region, it grows in sandy flats, along roadsides, on calcareous slopes, and in disturbed areas, at 200-1830 m. It is commonly found in association with Larrea tridentata, Opuntia, Quercus, Juniperus, and Bouteloua gracilis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Eragrostis sessilispica grows in prairies, limestone mesas, partial forest openings, and grasslands, generally in sandy soils, at 0-1220 m, often in association with Prosopsis and Quercus. Its range extends into northern Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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