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- Dichotomous Key
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- Poaceae Group 4
- Eragrostis
- Eragrostis hypnoides
Eragrostis hypnoides — teel lovegrass
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Facts
Teel lovegrass is native to New England, though it is very rare in the northern part of its range. It inhabits sandy, silty and muddy shores. It's one of a very few lovegrass species that has long, creeping stolons that root at the nodes; thus, it can form mats. Its panicles of long, ovate spikelets are handsome.
Habitat
Floodplain (river or stream floodplains), shores of rivers or lakes
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
-
- aquatic
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Leaf blade width
- 1–2 mm
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet length
- 4–13 mm
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Lemma awn length
- 0 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.3–0.6 mm
- Anther length
- 0.2–0.3 mm
-
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 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
- 10–60 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
- 4–13 mm
- 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
- yes
-
Leaves
- Leaf auricles
- the leaves do not have auricles
- Leaf blade width
- 1–2 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.3–0.6 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
-
- aquatic
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- river or stream floodplains
- shores of rivers or lakes
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Roots at lower stem nodes
- yes
- Stem orientation
-
- the stems trail along the ground or on other plants through most or all of their length
- the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips
- Stem spacing
- the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)
Wetland status
Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Maine
- historical (S-rank: SH), potentially extirpated (code: PE)
- Massachusetts
- unranked (S-rank: SNR)
- New Hampshire
- historical (S-rank: SH), endangered (code: E)
- Vermont
- rare to uncommon (S-rank: S2S3)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
5. Eragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) B.S.P. N
teel lovegrass. Poa hypnoides Lam. • CT, MA, ME, NH, VT; very rare in northern portion of range. Sand, silt, and mud shorelines.