Eragrostis frankii — sandbar lovegrass
![Leaves: Eragrostis frankii. ~ By William and Linda Steere and the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. ~ Copyright © 2024 William and Linda Steere and the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. ~ Barbara Thiers, Director; bthiers[at]nybg.org ~ C.V. Starr Herbarium - NY Botanical Gardens](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Poaceae/eragrostis-frankii-le-cvstarr1.jpg)
![Spikelets: Eragrostis frankii. ~ By Franco Giordana. ~ Copyright © 2024 Franco Giordana. ~ francogrd[at]gmail.com ~ Acta Plantarum - www.actaplantarum.org](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Poaceae/eragrostis-frankii-si-fgiordana2.jpg)
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Facts
Sandbar lovegrass is found on sandy river banks, as well as roadsides and disturbed soils. Some populations are probably the result of unintentional introduction, but the species is native to New England. In Massachusetts, native populations of E. frankii only occurs on the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers, and it is listed as a species of Special Concern. This lovegrass can be told apart from all other Eragrostis species by the combination of its upright growth form, its widely spreading inflorescences that are sometimes half the height of the plant, the tiny spikelets of only 3 to 5 florets, and the second glumes, which are equal in length to the lowest lemma.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), shores of rivers or lakes
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Leaf blade width
- 1–4 mm
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet length
- 1.7–5.6 mm
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Lemma awn length
- 0 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.2–0.5 mm
- Anther length
- 0.2–0.3 mm
-
Flowers
- Anther length
- 0.2–0.3 mm
- Anther number
- 3
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- Floret lower bract texture
- the lemma is thin and flexible
- Floret number
- 3–6
- Floret types within spikelet
- all the florets within a spikelet are similar
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Glume veins
- 1
- Inflorescence arrangement
- the spikelets are uniform
- Inflorescence axis orientation
- the inflorescence axis is straight
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence length
- 40–200 mm
- Inflorescence type (general)
- the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches
- Inflorescence type (specific)
- the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes
- Lemma awn base
- NA
- Lemma awn length
- 0 mm
- Lemma awn number
- the lemma has no awn
- Lemma base hairs
- the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base
- Lemma cross-section
- the lemma is V-shaped if you cut across the midpoint
- Lemma marginal vein hairs
- the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless
- Lemma surface
- the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
- Lemma tip
- the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)
- Lemma vein number
- 3
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Palea relative length
- palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
- Spikelet axis tip
- there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
- Spikelet length
- 1.7–5.6 mm
- Spikelet shape
- the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile
- Spikelets spiny
- the spikelets do not appear spiny
- Upper glume shape
- the upper glume is widest at or below the middle
-
Growth form
- Horizontal rooting stem
- no
- Lifespan
- the plant lives only a single year or less
- Rhizomes
- no
- Roots
- there are only slender roots on the plant
-
Leaves
- Leaf auricles
- the leaves do not have auricles
- Leaf blade width
- 1–4 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 0.2–0.5 mm
- Leaf ligule type
-
- the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs
- the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs
- Leaf margin glands
- there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade
- Leaf sheath closed around stem
- the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)
- Leaf sheath hairs
-
- there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
- there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
-
Place
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- shores of rivers or lakes
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Roots at lower stem nodes
- no
- Stem orientation
- the stems are upright
- Stem spacing
- the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
Wetland status
Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- uncommon (S-rank: S3), special concern (code: SC)
- New Hampshire
- historical (S-rank: SH), endangered (code: E)
- Vermont
- uncommon (S-rank: S3)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
4. Eragrostis frankii C.A. Mey. ex Steud. N│E
sandbar lovegrass. Eragrostis frankii C.A. Mey. ex Steud. var. brevipes Fassett • CT, MA, ME, NH, VT. Sandy riverbanks, sand and silt accretion bars, roadsides, disturbed soil. Some occurrences of this plant are likely the result of unintentional human introduction. The occurrence in Penobscot County, ME, is likely introduced.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Eragrostis pectinacea:
- spikelets with 6-22 florets and plants without glandular pits (vs. E. frankii, with spikelets with 3-6 florets and plants often with glandular pits on the sheaths, below the nodes of the stem, on the rachis of the inflorescence and/or on the branches of the inflorescence).
Synonyms
- Eragrostis frankii C.A. Mey. ex Steud. var. brevipes Fassett