''Eragrostis cilianensis'' is a species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

known by several common names, including stinkgrass, candy grass, and gray lovegrass.

Distribution

This plant is native to much of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

but it is widely

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

elsewhere, including nearly all of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Description

This is an annual

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

forming tufts up to about half a meter in height. The stems are generally erect but may droop or bend. The stems have glandular tissue near the nodes and the long leaves are often dotted with glands as well. The plants have a strong scent. The branching

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s have one to several spikelets per branch. Each spikelet is greenish brown, sometimes very slightly purple-tinted, and one half to two centimeters long. It is somewhat flattened and lined with 10 to over 40

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

References

External links

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Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Eragrostis cilianensis''''Eragrostis cilianensis'' - U.C. Photo gallery
cilianensis Bunchgrasses of Africa Bunchgrasses of Asia Bunchgrasses of Europe {{Chloridoideae-stub