Common name
Purple Lovegrass

Derivation
Eragrostis Wolf, Gen. Sp. Pl. 23 (1776); from the Greek, eros (loving), together with Agrostis, the Greek name of an indeterminate herb.

Or from the Greek er (early) and agrostris (wild). Species of Eragrostis are commonly early invaders of arable land.

Or from the Greek eri, an inseparable particle used as a prefix to strengthen a word in the sense of very much, that is a many-floreted Agrostis.

lacunaria- from the Latin lacuna (cavity) and -aria (pertaining to). Surface of grain pitted.

Published in
Fl. Austral. 7: 649 (1878).

Habit
Annual or perennial, tufted, short-lived. Rootstock not evident. Culms erect, 12–60 cm tall, wiry, 3–5-noded. Lateral branches simple. Leaf-sheaths smooth or papillose. Leaf-sheaths outer margin glabrous or hairy. Ligule a fringe of hairs, 0.5 mm long. Leaf-blades straight, persistent, involute or convolute, 2–7 cm long, 1–2 mm wide, rigid.

Inflorescence
Inflorescence compound, a panicle. Panicle open, oblong or ovate, 4–24 cm long, 6–10 cm wide, 50% of culm length. Primary panicle branches spreading, 1-nate, branching divaricately, 3–6 cm long. Panicle branches stiff, bearing congested spikelets.

Spikelets
Spikelets solitary. Pedicels 1–2 mm long, smooth or scaberulous. Fertile spikelets many flowered, comprising 9–43 fertile florets, with diminished florets at the apex, linear, laterally compressed or terete, compressed slightly, 5–22.5 mm long, 0.75–1 mm wide, breaking up at maturity. Spikelets rhachilla persistent. Spikelets retaining paleas. Rhachilla internodes 0.5 mm long.

Glumes
Glumes deciduous, similar. Lower glume lanceolate, 0.5 mm long, 50–66% length of upper glume, membranous, 1-keeled, 1-nerved, midnerve scaberulous. Lower glume lateral nerves absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate, 0.75–1 mm long, 50–66% of length of adjacent fertile lemma, membranous, 1-keeled, 1-nerved, midnerve scaberulous. Upper glume lateral nerves absent. Upper glume apex acute.

Florets
Fertile lemma ovate, 1–1.5 mm long, membranous or cartilaginous, dull or glossy, 3-nerved. Lemma lateral nerves obscure, close to margins. Lemma apex obtuse or acute, muticous. Palea obovate, with flaps narrower than body. Palea keels wingless, scaberulous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped. Lodicules 2, cuneate, fleshy. Anthers 3, 0.1–0.2 mm long. Grain with adherent pericarp, laterally compressed or flattened, trigonous or quadrangular, grooved, 0.5 mm long.

Continental Distribution:
Australasia.

Australian Distribution:
Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria.

Western Australia: Giles, Helms, Ashburton, Austin. Northern Territory: Central Australia North, Central Australia South. South Australia: North-western, Lake Eyre, Eastern, Murray. Queensland: Cook, Burke, North Kennedy, South Kennedy, Port Curtis, Leichhardt, Burnett, Wide Bay, Darling Downs, Moreton, Gregory South, Mitchell, Warrego, Maranoa. New South Wales: North-Western Slopes, Central-Western Slopes, North-Western Plains, South-Western Plains, North Far Western Plains, South Far Western Plains. Victoria: Murray Mallee, Wimmera.

Classification. (GPWG 2001):
Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae

Notes
Endemic; occurs in W.A. near Wiluna and the Rawlinson and Warburton Ra., central N.T. around Alice Springs, scattered in S.A., and from about Charters Towers, Qld, S to Dimboola in central Vic. Flowers and fruits all year round.
A useful fodder species in native pastures.