The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

coastal lovegrass

sand lovegrass

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

30-85(110) cm, glabrous and shiny below the nodes.

30-120 (160) cm, erect, glabrous and non-glandular below the nodes.

Sheaths

sparsely hairy at the apices, hairs to 6 mm;

ligules 0.1-0.4 mm;

blades 10-35 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, flat to involute, glabrous abaxially, scabridulous and sparsely pilose adaxially, hairs to 7 mm.

sometimes villous along the margins, apices hairy, hairs to 5 mm;

ligules 0.3-0.5 mm;

blades 15-46(65) cm long, 1.5-8 mm wide, flat to involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, sometimes also pilose on the basal 1/4, hairs to 4 mm.

Panicles

(25)30-60 cm long, 25-40 cm wide, broadly ovate to obovate, open, diffuse;

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

pulvini hairy or glabrous;

pedicels 0.5-25 mm, appressed, only the terminal pedicels on each branch longer than the spikelets.

30-80 cm long, 6-30 cm wide, oblong to ovoid, diffuse;

primary branches 2-35 cm, diverging 20-90° from the rachises, naked basally;

pulvini hairy or glabrous;

pedicels 2-22 cm, diverging, capillary.

Spikelets

4-18(23) mm long, 1.4-3.4 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, grayish-green or stramineous to purplish, with (4)9-30 florets;

disarticulation tardy, basipetal, in the rachillas below the florets, glumes persistent.

3-15 mm long, 1.5—3.6 mm wide, ovate to lanceolate, greenish-yellow with a reddish-purple tinge, with (2)4-18 florets;

disarticulation acropetal, paleas persistent.

Glumes

narrowly lanceolate, membranous;

lower glumes 0.8-2.4 mm;

upper glumes 1.5-2.6 mm;

lemmas 1.4-2.8 mm, lanceolate, membranous, apices acute to acuminate;

paleas 1-2.6 mm, hyaline to membranous, narrower than the lemmas, apices obtuse to acute;

anthers 2, 0.3-0.5 mm, purplish or brownish.

subequal, 1.8-4 mm, narrowly ovate to linear-lanceolate, membranous, apices acuminate;

upper glumes as long as or longer than the basal lemmas;

lemmas 2.2-3.5 mm, broadly ovate to lanceolate, membranous, strongly keeled, keels not glandular, lateral veins conspicuous, apices acute;

paleas 1.8-2.8 mm, hyaline, narrower than the lemmas, keels ciliolate, apices obtuse to truncate;

anthers 3, 1-1.6 mm, purplish.

Caryopses

0.5-0.9 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, finely striate, reddish-brown.

0.8-1.3 mm, rectangular-prismatic, somewhat laterally compressed, with a wide, deep adaxial groove, faintly striate, opaque, dark reddish-brown.

2n

= 28.

= 40.

Eragrostis refracta

Eragrostis trichodes

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; IA; IL; IN; KS; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; NE; NM; NY; OH; OK; SD; TN; TX; VA; WI; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eragrostis refracta grows in sandy pinelands, savannahs, marshes, and woodlands on the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, at 0-150 m. It is not known from Mexico.

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

Eragrostis trichodes grows in sandy to gravelly prairies, open sandy woods, rocky slopes, and roadsides, at 100-2150 m, often in associations with Quercus marilandica, Q. stellata, Juniperus, and Redfieldia flexuosa. It is endemic to the contiguous United States, and is available commercially as an ornamental. Records from outside the primary range probably reflect introductions.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 97. FNA vol. 25, p. 93.
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. polytricha, E. prolifera, 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. trichophora, E. unioloides
Synonyms E. virginica, E. campestris E. trichodes var. pilifera, E. pilifera
Name authority (Muhl.) Scribn. (Nutt.) Alph. Wood
Web links