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• Eragrostis frankii

Eragrostis frankii — sandbar lovegrass

Facts

Sandbar lovegrass is found on sandy river banks, as well as roadsides and disturbed soils. Some populations are probably the result of unintentional introduction, but the species is native to New England. In Massachusetts, E. frankii only occurs on the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers, and it is listed as a species of Special Concern. This lovegrass can be told apart from all other Eragrostis species by the combination of its upright growth form, its widely spreading inflorescences that are sometimes half the height of the plant, the tiny spikelets of only 3 to 5 florets, and the second glumes, which are equal in length to the lowest lemma.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.2–0.3 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  3–6

  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 straight

  Inflorescence branches

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

  Inflorescence length

  40–200 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

  1.7–5.6 mm

  Spikelet shape

  the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives only a single year or less

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade width

  1–4 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.2–0.5 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  • the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs
  • 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
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• 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

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae