Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Eragrostis chloromelas Steud.; Eragrostis subulata Nees

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African lovegrass, Boer love grass, weeping lovegrass

Spanish: pasto llorón

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Stiff, densely tufted perennials, to 70 cm; branching intravaginal, shoots ± thickened at base. Leaf-sheath coriaceous, strongly ribbed, light creamy brown at base, purplish above, with short, scattered, stiff hairs, lower sheaths tomentose near base. Ligule ciliate, hairs 0.8-1.4 mm. Collar hairs 2-5.5 mm. Leaf-blade 10-55 cm x 0.5-1.3 mm diameter., narrowly involute or convolute, abaxially glabrous, adaxially ribbed, ribs minutely scabrid; margins minutely scabrid, long-narrowed to filiform, acute, scabrid tip. Culm 20-80 cm, rarely branched above, erect, internodes glabrous. Panicle 12-22 cm, lax, at first narrow-sagittate, later more open; branches ascending to later spreading, solitary or binate, ± scabrid, branch-axils at lower nodes with hairs (to 4 mm). Spikelets 4.5-6-(8) mm, 4-6-(8)-flowered, ± smooth, not very compressed, linear-lanceolate, olive-grey. Glumes unequal, hyaline, 1-nerved, oblong-lanceolate, apex subacute, minutely scabrid; lower 1.6-2 mm, upper 2.2-2.8 mm. Lemma 2.5-2.8 mm, 3-(5)-nerved, membranous, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, hardly keeled, minutely scabrid. Palea ≈ lemma, keels sparsely scabrid, apex truncate, ciliate. Rachilla glabrous, 0.6-0.8 mm. Stamens 3; anthers 0.9-1.6 mm. Caryopsis 1.4-1.6 x 0.6-0.8 mm"  (Edgar & Connor, 2000; p. 528).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "Heath- and shrubland, grass- and woodland, seasonal freshwater wetlands.  Where native, this grass is found in moist sandy soils and in disturbed woodlands.  It is drought tolerant and very tolerant to soil salinity; germination can take place under high soil salinity levels.  It does not grow on wet, seepy soils and does not tolerate standing water.  The grass establishes easily and persists well under grazing.  Where invasive, it becomes dominant on low-fertility soils and the dense tussocks displace native vegetation"  (Weber, 2003; p. 154).

Propagation:  Seed, dispersed by water, wind and animals  (Weber, 2003; p. 154).

Native range:  Eastern and southern Africa (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 26) Vouchers cited: Aschermann s.n. (BISH 634250), Warren s.n. (BISH 634223)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 20) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H60109 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 26) "Uncommon in abondoned sugarcane fields". Voucher cited: Nagata 4437 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 68)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 144)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 528) "Roadsides, in sandy soil, or on banks, depleted tussock grassland, stony flats and waste land. Some records are of escapes from experimental plots".

Control: 

Physical:  "Smaller plants can be dug out, the crowns must be removed to prevent regrowth.  Burning before flowering starts is used to remove topgrowth.  Re-establishment of desirable overstorey species can shade out the grass".

Chemical:  "Regrowth and seedlings are sprayed with grass-selective herbicides"  (Weber, 2003; p. 154).

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland.

Additional online information about Eragrostis curvula is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Eragrostis curvula as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Eragrostis curvula may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Eragrostis chloromelas Steud.; Eragrostis subulata Nees

References:

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 137 pp. + plates.

Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. 1998. Notes on the grasses of Hawai‘i: new records, corrections, and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 55:17-38.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.