Flora of North America species comparison

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Eragrostis polytricha

Eragrostis scaligera

hairysheath lovegrass

tender 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.

25-75 cm, erect, glabrous below the 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.

glabrous or with hairy apices, hairs to 4 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.3 mm, ciliate;

blades 4-8(18) cm long, 1-2 mm wide, involute, frequently deciduous, adaxial surfaces mostly glabrous, sometimes pilose 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.

terminal and axillary;

terminal panicles 5-15 cm long, (1)2-10(12) cm wide, narrowly ovate, open;

axillary panicles 2-5 cm long, 0.3-0.6 cm wide, usually contracted and partially to completely enclosed by the subtending sheath;

primary branches 1-10 cm, appressed or diverging up to 90° from the rachises, wiry;

pulvini glabrous or hairy;

pedicels 0.3-5 mm, appressed, flattened.
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.

6-15(27) mm long, 1.6-2.4 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, plumbeous to greenish, often with a reddish-purple tinge, with 10-35(45) florets;

disarticulation acropetal, glumes first, then 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.

lanceolate to ovate, membranous;

lower glumes 1.4-2.1 mm;

upper glumes 1.6-2.2 mm;

lemmas (1.7)2-2.5 mm, broadly ovate, leathery, apices acute to acuminate;

paleas 1.1-1.7 mm, hyaline, apices obtuse to truncate;

anthers 2, 0.3-0.7 mm, reddish-purple.
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.

0.5-0.6 mm, globose, not grooved, smooth, light reddish-brown.
2n

= 60, 80.

= 40.

Eragrostis polytricha

Eragrostis scaligera
Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL
[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 scaligera is known from Lee and Collier counties, Florida, where it grows in sandy areas in the coastal scrub zone and along adjacent roadsides, at 0-10 m. It is native to French Guiana and Brazil.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 95. FNA vol. 25, p. 101.
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. 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. 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 Salzm. ex Steud.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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