Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

RED LOVEGRASS

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Eragrostis secundiflora Torr. subsp. oxylepis (Torr. ) S.D. Koch

Russell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6 to 30 inches tall

Family: Poaceae - Grass Family

Flowering Period: August, September

Culms:

Mostly erect, sometimes bent below, simple or branching, glabrous.

Blades:

Rolled inward near tip, 2 to 12 inches long, less than 1/6 inch wide, nearly glabrous but often long-hairy on upper surface near base; tips long, narrow.

Sheaths:

Shorter or longer than internodes, nearly glabrous, tuft of long hairs at throat.

Ligules:

Rings of very short hairs.

Inflorescences:

Panicles, densely flowered, mostly 2 to 6 inches long, often reddish brown; main branches ascending, secondary branches pressed against axis, bearing irregularly arranged clusters of spikelets.

Spikelets:

Numerous, short-stalked, 5-29 flowered, strongly flattened, 1/4 - 1/2 inch long, less than 1/6 inch wide, reddish; awns absent; glumes nearly equal, tips pointed; lemmas closely overlapping, prominent green nerves, tips pointed and spreading out.

Habitat:

Dry pastures, prairies, and waste ground, in sandy soils.

Distribution:

Occurs in the west three quarters of Kansas.

Uses:

The Paiute used red lovegrass seeds as food.

Comments:

Tufted.

Red lovegrass