Eragrostis | |
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Eragrostis cilianensis Maui, Hawai'i | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Chloridoideae |
Tribe: | Eragrostideae |
Subtribe: | Eragrostidinae |
Genus: | Eragrostis Wolf [1] |
Type species | |
Eragrostis eragrostis (syn of E. cilianensis) | |
Synonyms [3] | |
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Eragrostis is a large and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Eragrostis is commonly known as lovegrass [11] or canegrass. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek words ἔρως (érōs), meaning "love", and ἄγρωστις (ágrōstis), meaning "grass". [12]
Lovegrass is commonly used as livestock fodder. The seeds appear to be of high nutritional value for some animals, but they are also very tiny and collecting them for human food is cumbersome and hence uncommon. A notable exception is teff ( E. tef ), which is used to make traditional breads on the Horn of Africa, such as Ethiopian injera and Somalian laxoox . It is a crop of commercial importance. E. clelandii and E. tremula are recorded as famine foods in Australia and Chad, respectively. [13]
Other species, such as E. amabilis , are used as ornamental plants. E. cynosuroides is used in the pūjā rites in the Hindu temple at Karighatta. Bahia lovegrass ( E. bahiensis ) is known as a hyperaccumulator of caesium-137 and can be grown to remove the highly toxic radioactive atoms from the environment. Weeping lovegrass ( E. curvula ) has been planted extensively to prevent soil erosion.
Seed dispersal is often done by passing animals; the grains' hooks latch on to fur or hair, or to clothes. Others are wind or gravity dispersed. Several herbivores feed on lovegrass, including invertebrates such as the caterpillars of the Zabulon skipper (Lon zabulon) and vertebrates. The extinct bluebuck (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was known to graze these grasses. The dense bunches also provide cover for small animals such as the rare Botteri's sparrow (Aimophila botterii). Lovegrasses may be important groundcover on oceanic islands like Laysan, where other plants are rare.
Eragrostis is the type genus of the tribe Eragrostideae. [14] [15]
Many species now considered better suited to other genera, including Cladoraphis Coelachyrum Desmazeria Diplachne Ectrosia Festuca Harpachne Poa etc.
Erythronium, the fawn lily, trout lily, dog's-tooth violet or adder's tongue, is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. The name Erythronium derives from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós) "red" in Greek, referring to the red flowers of E. dens-canis. Of all the established species, most live in North America; only six species are found in Europe and Asia.
Clintonia is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus, first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818, was named for DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), a naturalist and politician from the U.S. state of New York. For this reason, plants of the genus are commonly known as Clinton's lily. The common name bluebead refer to the distinctive fruit of members of the genus. Since fruit color varies somewhat across species, the common name bead lily is used as well.
Apocynum, commonly known as dogbane or Indian hemp, is a small genus of the flowering plant family Apocynaceae. Its name comes from Ancient Greek ἀπόκυνονapókunon, from ἀπο-apo- "away" and κύωνkúōn "dog", referring to dogbane, which was used to poison dogs. The genus is native to North America, temperate Asia, and southeastern Europe.
Allium ampeloprasum is a member of the onion genus Allium. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to southwestern Asia and North Africa, but it is cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in many countries.
Tiarella, the foamflowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. The generic name Tiarella means "little turban", which suggests the shape of the seed capsules. Worldwide there are seven species, one each in eastern Asia and western North America, plus five species in eastern North America. As of October 2022, the taxonomy of Tiarella in eastern North America is in flux.
Cardamine concatenata, the cutleaved toothwort, crow's toes, pepper root or purple-flowered toothwort, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial woodland wildflower native to eastern North America.
Andropogon is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as Southern Europe and various oceanic islands.
Tiarella trifoliata, the three-leaf foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name trifoliata means "having three leaflets", a characteristic of two of the three recognized varieties. Also known as the laceflower or sugar-scoop, the species is found in shaded, moist woods in western North America.
Danthonia is a genus of Eurasian, North African, and American plants in the grass family. Members of this genus are sometimes referred to as oatgrass, but that common name is not restricted to this genus. Other common names include heathgrass and wallaby grass. Australian species have since been reclassified into the genus Rytidosperma.
Sporobolus is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name Sporobolus means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word σπόρος (spóros), meaning "seed", and the root of βάλλειν (bállein) "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds. Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species is threatened with extinction, and another is extinct.
Quercus toumeyi, the Toumey oak, is a North American species of tree in the beech family. It is found in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It grows in Sonora, Chihuahua, Arizona, New Mexico, and the extreme westernmost tip of Texas.
Balsamorhiza is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae known commonly as balsamroots. These are perennials with fleshy taproots and caudices bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like blooms. Balsamroots are native to western North America.
Eragrostis dielsii, commonly known as mallee lovegrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is endemic to Australia.
Desmostachya is a genus of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Africa and Asia.
Eragrostis spectabilis, known as purple lovegrass, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae, native from southern Canada to northeastern Mexico. It was first described by Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1813 as Poa spectabilis, and transferred to Eragrostis by Ernst von Steudel in 1840.
Eragrostis curvula is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass.
Eragrostis lehmanniana is a species of grass known by the common name Lehmann lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa. It is present elsewhere as an introduced species. It is well known as an invasive weed in some areas, such as Arizona in the United States.
Xyris montana, the northern yelloweyed grass, is a North American species of flowering plants in the yellow-eyed-grass family. It grows in eastern and central Canada and in the northeastern and north-central United States.
Eragrostis ciliaris, the gophertail lovegrass, is a species of grass. It is native to the Old World Tropics; nearly all of Africa, Madagascar, other Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines and a number of Pacific islands, and has been introduced to the New World Tropics and Subtropics, from the southern United States to Argentina, the Caribbean, and other Pacific islands. Its seeds are edible and nutritious, but quite small and difficult to harvest and handle, so it is usually regarded as a famine food.
Eragrostis minor, the little lovegrass or smaller stinkgrass, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae, native to most of the subtropical and warm temperate Old World, and introduced to North America, South America, and Australia. Preferring disturbed open places with little competition, and sandy or gravelly soils, it is often found growing on rail embankments, road verges, cracks in sidewalks, and waste areas. Its seeds are edible, but quite small and difficult to harvest and handle, so it is usually regarded as a famine food.