Weeping Lovegrass
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Eragrostis curvula'' 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 the
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass. It is native to
southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. It is an
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
on other continents.Gucker, Corey L. (2009)
''Eragrostis curvula''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 12-22-2011.


Description

''Eragrostis curvula'' is usually a long-lived perennial grass, but it is sometimes an
annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...
. It is variable in appearance, and there are many different natural and cultivated forms. In general, it forms tufts of stems up to tall. The tufts may reach a diameter of . The grass grows from a thick root network. Plants have been noted to have roots penetrating over deep in the soil and laterally. The roots can grow per day. The first root to grow into the soil from a
seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...
can send out up to 60 small rootlets per inch. The dense root system forms a
sod Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...
. The drooping leaves of the grass are up to long but just a few millimeters wide, and they may have rolled edges. The
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 ...
is a
panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
with branches lined with centimeter-long spikelets. Each spikelet may contain up to 15 flowers. One panicle may produce 1000 seeds. Cultivated plants may produce two crops of seed per year. The plant self-fertilizes or undergoes
apomixis In botany, apomixis is asexual development of seed or embryo without fertilization. However, other definitions include replacement of the seed by a plantlet or replacement of the flower by bulbils. Apomictically produced offspring are geneti ...
, without fertilization.


Uses

This grass is valuable as a
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
for livestock in Africa, its native range.Ncanana, S., et al. (2005)
Development of plant regeneration and transformation protocols for the desiccation-sensitive weeping lovegrass ''Eragrostis curvula''.
''Plant Cell Rep'' 24 335-40. Retrieved 12-22-2011.
There are many
ecotype Ecotypes are organisms which belong to the same species but possess different phenotypical features as a result of environmental factors such as elevation, climate and predation. Ecotypes can be seen in wide geographical distributions and may event ...
s. Several of these ecotypes were collected and introduced in the United States as
cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s. The grass was first planted in the United States in
Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...
, in 1935. It was good for livestock, and its massive root network made it a good plant for
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
control. It spread quickly as it was planted for ornamental purposes. It reached
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
in the 1960s and in the 1970s and 80s it was planted alongside many highways such as the
Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
. Today it occurs as an
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
in wild habitat from the southwestern United States to the East Coast. It can be found in woodlands,
chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
,
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
,
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
, and disturbed areas. It is tolerant of very acidic and very basic soils; it grows easily in mine spoils. This species may hybridize with other ''
Eragrostis ''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. ''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is de ...
'', such as '' Eragrostis caesia'', '' E. lehmanniana'', and '' E. planiculmis''.Halvorson, W. L. and P. Guertin. (2003)
USGS Weeds in the West project: Status of Introduced Plants in Southern Arizona Parks.
USGS. Retrieved 12-22-2011.
Cultivars of this grass include 'South African Robusta Blue', 'Witbank', 'Ermelo', 'Kromdraai', 'American Leafy', and 'Renner'.'Mapledoram, B. and E. P. Theron. (1970). ''Notes on the relative merit of four cultivars of ''Eragrostis curvula'' in Natal''. Proceedings of the Annual Congresses of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa Cultivars may be selected for yield, palatability for livestock, and
drought resistance In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tole ...
. It is planted along waterways in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and mountainsides in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and it is used for oversowing fields in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. In the United States it is often planted alongside Korean lespedeza.''Eragrostis curvula''.
FAO Plant Profile. Retrieved 12-22-2011.
It is planted as a nurse crop for sericea lespedeza, coastal panic grass, and
switchgrass ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switch ...
. It is an
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
in some regions, such as parts of the United States and Victoria and other Australian states.Parsons, W. T. and E. G. Cuthbertson. ''Noxious weeds of Australia''. CSIRO Publishing 2001. It is aggressive and can crowd out native plants. Its drought resistance helps it to survive in dry environments.''Eragrostis curvula''.
USFS Plant Fact Sheet. Retrieved 7-20-2021.
In
Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
, this grass is used to make baskets, brooms, hats, ropes, and candles, and it is used for food, as a charm, and in funeral rituals.''Eragrostis curvula''.
Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products. Retrieved 12-22-2011.


See also

*
Injera Injera (, ; ; ) is a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, injera is a staple. Injera is central to the dining process in Amhara community, like br ...
*
Teff ''Teff'' (), also known as ''Eragrostis tef'', Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to Ethiopia, where it first originated in the Ethiopian Highlands. It is cultivated for its edible seed ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Bunchgrasses of Africa Flora of Southern Africa Grasses of South Africa Plants described in 1821 curvula