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Eragrostis spectabilis
Also called Petticoat Climber, Tumblegrass Lovegrass, Purple Love Grass, Carolina Lovegrass
Purple lovegrass is a native North American perennial bunch grass with airy purple seed heads in late summer. It does best in full sun and sandy, moist soil, and is often used for erosion control and native restoration.
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.
It is readily eaten by browsing and grazing animals.
Eragrostis spectabilis is a native to eastern and central North America from Maine to as far west as South Dakota, and south to Florida and Arizona and even down into Mexico. In addition to its native distribution in North America, purple love grass is widely grown in China as an ornamental plant non-natively.
Eragrostis spectabilis is often used in attempts to reintroduce native species in disturbed areas, particularly in plains and hot, sandy areas, as it spreads readily via seeds and has a high dormancy rate(60%) that only increases after its dormancy period; the only problem is that it is not widely available for commercial use and can thus get expensive. Additionally, it is used as an erosion control plant, as its fibrous roots hold soil in place. It can also be used as a lawn alternative in areas with low foot traffic, as it only needs to be mowed a few times per growing season. The dried inflorescences are often used in dried flower arrangements.
Sticky Love Grass · Stinkgrass · Gophertail lovegrass · Naked Woollybutt Grass · Little lovegrass · Indian lovegrass · Teff · Lovegrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eragrostis spectabilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
