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hairysheath lovegrass

Elliott's lovegrass, field lovegrass

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular. Plants perennial; cespitose, with innovations, without rhizomes, not glandular.
Culms

30-62 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny below the nodes.

25-80 cm, erect, glabrous and shiny below the basal nodes.

Sheaths

sometimes densely pilose dorsally and on the collars, margins and apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;

blades 5-20(33) cm long, 1-3.5 mm wide, involute to flat, both surfaces with scattered hairs, adaxial surfaces densely hairy behind the ligules, hairs to 7 mm.

sparsely hairy at the apices, hairs to 6 mm;

ligules 0.2-0.4 mm;

blades 6-30(52) cm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, sometimes with a few scattered hairs near the base.

Panicles

15-25 cm long, 5-27 cm wide, ovate, open;

primary branches 0.6-15 cm, diverging up to 90° from the rachises, capillary, naked basally;

pulvini hairy, hairs to 8 mm;

pedicels 1.4-10(16) mm, divergent.

(25)30-60 cm long, 15—45 cm wide, broadly ovate to obovate, open, diffuse;

primary branches mostly 5-25(32) cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, capillary;

pulvini hairy;

pedicels (4)10-35(50) mm, widely diverging, capillary, all the pedicels on each branch longer than the spikelets.

Spikelets

(2.5)3-5 mm long, 1.1-1.6 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate to linear-oblong, plumbeous, with 4-9 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

4-18 mm long, 1.4-3 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, grayish-green or stramineous to purplish, with (6)9-30 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, below the lemmas, paleas persistent.

Glumes

broadly ovate to narrowly lanceolate, hyaline to membranous;

lower glumes 1.1-1.6 mm;

upper glumes 1.2—1.8 mm;

lemmas 1.2-1.8 mm, broadly ovate, membranous throughout, lateral veins inconspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1.1-1.7 mm, membranous to hyaline, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse;

anthers 3, 0.3—0.5 mm, reddish-purple.

narrowly lanceolate, membranous;

lower glumes 1.1-3.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.6-3.4 mm, apices acuminate;

lemmas 1.8-4.4 mm, lanceolate, membranous, lateral veins evident to inconspicuous, sometimes greenish, apices acute to acuminate;

paleas 1.1-3.5 mm, hyaline to membranous, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse;

anthers 2, 0.3-0.8 mm, purplish or brownish.

Caryopses

0.5-0.8 mm, obovoid to somewhat prism-shaped, laterally compressed, with a well-developed adaxial groove, finely striate, opaque to translucent, reddish-brown.

0.6-0.8 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, finely striate, reddish-brown.

2n

= 60, 80.

= unknown.

Eragrostis polytricha

Eragrostis elliottii

Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis polytricha grows in sandy and rocky areas, at 0-30 m, usually in open pinelands. It is native to Florida but its primary range lies to the south of the Flora region, from southern Mexico through Central America to Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina.

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

Eragrostis elliottii grows in sandy pinelands and live-oak woodlands on the coastal plain, at 0-150 m. Its range extends from the southeastern United States through the West Indies and Gulf coast of Mexico to Central and South America.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 95. FNA vol. 25, p. 99.
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. intermedia, E. japonica, E. lehmanniana, E. lugens, E. lutescens, E. mexicana, E. minor, E. obtusiflora, E. palmeri, E. pectinacea, E. pilosa, E. plana, 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. 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
Name authority Nees S. Watson
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