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• Dichotomous Key
• Poaceae
• Poaceae Group 4
• Eragrostis
• Eragrostis curvula

Eragrostis curvula — weeping lovegrass

Facts

Originally introduced from Africa, weeping lovegrass is a rare visitor to New England, having been collected from waste areas in Massachusetts and Rhode Island; indeed, it reaches the northern edge of its range in our region. It gets its common name from its tufts of long, curving leaves and nodding panicles, which enhance its value as an ornamental grass. It also has been planted widely to reclaim eroded soils. Birds and small mammals feast on its ripe seeds, and livestock graze young plants. This grass also supports a diverse insect fauna including cinch bugs, seed bugs, leafhoppers, and turtle bugs.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), grassland

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.6–1.2 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume veins

  1

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence length

  160–400 mm

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Lemma awn base

  NA

  Lemma awn length

  0 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has no awn

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is V-shaped if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma marginal vein hairs

  the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)

  Lemma vein number

  3

  One or more florets

  there is more than one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet length

  4–10 mm

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Upper glume length

  2–3 mm

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizomes

  no

• Leaves

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade width

  1–3 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.6–1.5 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hairs

  • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island

  Specific habitat

  • grasslands
  • man-made or disturbed habitats

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  no

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae