Eragrostis intermedia
Plains Lovegrass
Family: Poaceae
Perennial bunchgrass, densely tufted and erect reaching about 3’ tall with blooms, foliage mostly only about a foot tall in the low desert. Evergreen in our region, goes dormant in much colder regions. The inflorescence and seed heads are very large and airy compared to the tidy, small tuft of grass. This is a very difficult grass to photograph, but a wonderful grass to grow.
Full to part sun, best on irrigation in the low desert.
Native grasses are extremely important plants for wildlife: as nesting material for birds as well as native bees and other insects, as habitat for many organisms, and as food: adult insects eat the foliage, granivorous birds depend on many species for seeds, and most grass species are used as larval hosts for many species of butterflies and moths, especially skippers. Many bee species collect the pollen of many species of grasses. All can be used for desert tortoise enclosures, though the more spreading types are better for keeping up with a tortoise appetite.
Photo by Patrick Alexander, SEINET
Eragrostis intermedia on iNaturalist
Grasses also play an important role in the ecology of soil, and because they are monocots, they can be planted close to other species of plants (the nature of the root systems of monocots renders them less imposing on neighboring plants). They hold soil down and help prevent erosion. Many species are pioneer plants that convert disturbed soils into hospitable places for other plants.
Eragrostis is from Greek eros, love and agrostis, grass; intermedia means intermediate referring to the relative smaller stature of this grass compared to other species of Eragrostis. There are 427 species of Eragrostis found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. Don’t confuse our native Eragrostis species with the invasive ones—this is not Lehmann’s lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) which has invaded the grasslands of our region, displacing many native species.
This plant grows in desert grassland, prairie, chaparral, shrubsteppe, pinyon-juniper woodland, and oak-dominated woodlands. It is often found in dry, sloping areas. It can take hold easily in disturbed habitat. It does best in sandy soil types, and areas with bimodal precipitation patterns, having wet seasons in winter and summer. In its native habitat it is one of the first plants to turn green in the spring. It has been observed to increase in abundance after wildfire. Found in the southern, central, and southwestern United States, from Florida, Georgia, and Tennesee to Arizona and California; through Mexico to Costa Rica and Guatemala.
This is one of the more difficult grasses to photograph due to the open airy nature of the seedheads and the small, green tuft of grass at the base. Photo by tifflov3 on iNaturalist
Open seed panicle of this species, photo by Curren Frasch, iNaturalist
Freshly emerging panicle, photo by Cindy Groseth, iNaturalist