Eragrostis variabilis
Genus
Eragrostis
Species
variabilis
Hawaiian Names with Diacritics
- Kalamālō
- Kāwelu
- ʻEmoloa
Hawaiian Names
- Emoloa
- Kalamalo
- Kawelu
Common Names
- Lovegrass
- Variable lovegrass
Synonyms
- Eragrostis equitans
- Eragrostis hawaiiensis
- Eragrostis hobdyi
- Eragrostis niihauensis
- Eragrostis phleoides
- Eragrostis thyrsoidea
- Eragrostis wahowensis
- Poa variabilis
Distribution Status
Endemic
Endangered Species Status
No Status
Plant Form / Growth Habit
- Non-Woody, Clumping
- Non-Woody, Spreading
Mature Size, Height (in feet)
- Grass-like, Medium, 1 to 2.5
Mature Size, Width
Kāwelu has a 2 to 3 foot spread.
Life Span
Long lived (Greater than 5 years)
Landscape Uses
- Accent
- Container
- Erosion Control
- Ground Cover
Additional Landscape Use Information
Native grasses should be incorporated more in home and commercial landscapes.They are non invasive and fill in gaps in the landscape by adding another element of texture and enhancing more showier natives. They are "the roadies for the stars."
Currently, there are a few Eragrostis species in cultivation with kāwelu being the one most encountered. Kāwelu can be used with a number of native plants in full sun or open windy locations with minimal water (xeric). When planted en masse it can also be used as an effective soil or sand erosion control.
Plant Produces Flowers
Yes
Flower Type
Not Showy
Flower Colors
- Brownish
- Red
Blooming Period
- Year Round
Additional Blooming Period and Fruiting Information
These are perennial grasses.
Plant texture
- Coarse
Additional Plant Texture Information
Kāwelu leaves grow to about 24 inches long.
Leaf Colors
- Medium Green
Additional Pest & Disease Information
Kāwelu is prone to ants, scale, mealy bugs, and aphids.
Fertilizer
For kāwelu use small amounts of a balanced slow release fertilize with minor elements every six months. Foliar feed monthly with kelp or fish emulsion, or a commercial fertilizer with a weak dilution of one half to one third of recommended strength. Do not over fertilize these plants. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]
Pruning Information
Remove spent seed stalks for a clean landscape appearance. Cut off flower flowering spikes to prolong plants life.
Water Requirements
- Dry
Additional Water Information
Allow to dry between waterings. Keep moist for the first two or three weeks after plantings. Then slowly reduce watering. Water kāwelu when soil dries out or nearly so.
Soil must be well drained
Yes
Light Conditions
- Full sun
Spacing Information
Kāwelu should be spaced at 3 feet apart.
Tolerances
- Drought
- Wind
- Salt Spray
Soils
- Sand
- Cinder
- Organic
- Coral
Natural Range
- Niʻihau
- Kauaʻi
- Oʻahu
- Molokaʻi
- Lānaʻi
- Maui
- Kahoʻolawe
- Hawaiʻi
- Northwest Islands
Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)
- Less than 150, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 150 to 1000, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 1000 to 1999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 2000 to 2999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 3000 to 3999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
Additional Habitat Information
Kāwelu is known to occur on sand dunes, grasslands, open sites in dry forest, and exposed slopes and ridges or cliffs. On the main islands and the Northwest Islands of Kure Atoll (Kānemilohaʻi), Midway Atoll (Pihemanu), Pearl & Hermes Reef (Holoikauaua), Lisianski (Papaʻāpoho), Laysan (Kauō), and Nīhoa, kāwelu is often a main component for native bird habitat.
The majority of the seabird Christmas shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) that breed on Nīhoa, nest in the tufts of kāwelu or in ʻakoko (Chamaesyce celastroides) thickets. [2]
Special Features and Information
General Information
The lovegrasses (Eragrostis spp.) comprise some 300 species in the Grass family (Poaceae). There are nine native species, of which eight are endemic. Of these, the Pacific lovegrass (Eragrostis deflexa) is rare, Fosberg's lovegrass (E. fosbergii) is endangered, and Maui lovegrass (E. mauiensis) is considered extinct.
There are also thirteen introduced and naturalized species.
Etymology
The Latin name Eragrostis comes from the Greek eros, meaning loving (in an erotic sense), and Agrostis, a genus of fodder grasses.
The specific epithet variabilis is from the Latin for changeable or variable.
Background Information
Kāwelu or ʻemoloa is one of the more commonly encountered native grasses in its natural habitat. A common vernacular name is Variable lovegrass. [1]
This bunchgrass is important as a food source and nesting site for the Laysan finch (Telespiza cantans), a honeycreeper endemic to Laysan (Kauō), but also introduced to Midway Atoll and Pearl and Hermes Reef. These birds also once inhabited Oʻahu and Molokaʻi in prehistoric times. [4]
Early Hawaiian Use
House Construction:
Occasionally kāwelu was substituted for pili (Heteropogon contortus) in thatching by early Hawaiians. [3]
Hula:
Kāwelu moving in the breeze is said to have inspired a swaying hula step. [2]
Additional References
[1] "Grasses of Hawaii" by Peter P. Rotar, page 322.
[2] "Natural History of Nihoa and Necker Islands" by Neal L. Evenhuis, pages 58, 60.
[3] "Plants in Hawaiian Culture" by Beatrice H. Krauss, page 58.
[4] "The Hawaiian Honeycreeper: Drapandidae" by H. Douglas Pratt, pages 20, 199, 200.
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