New England Wild Flower Society

Printed at http://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/index.cfm/

Eragrostis spectabilis

purple lovegrass


Purple lovegrass is a tough plant for tough places. This warm season, low-growing bunchgrass has flat, coarse, and mostly basal leaves throughout the growing season. In late summer, the blue-green tufts are topped by airy, delicate blooms that create a hazy, purple layer above, particularly striking when this grass is planted in masses.

Click on these links to read in detail:  General Description | Benefits | Ecology | References


Height: 8-14 in
Spread: 10-16 in
Hardiness Zone: 4-10


Bloom Color: Non-Flowering

Characteristics & Attributes

Cultivation Status
Species
Exposure
Sun
Part Shade
Soil Moisture
Dry
Average
Ecoregion
(82) Acadian Plains and Hills
(58) Northeastern Highlands
(83) Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands
(59) Northeastern Coastal Zone
(84) Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens
Ornamental Interest
Fall Bloom
Summer Bloom
Attracts Wildlife
Host Plant
Other Pollinators/Wildlife
Attracts Songbirds
Tolerance
Urban Environment
Drought Tolerant
Deer/Rabbit Resistant
Salt Tolerant
Additional Attributes
Low Maintenance
Erosion Control/Soil Stabilization
Landscape Use
Naturalize
Massing
Meadow garden
Rain Garden
Groundcover
Growth Habit
Spreading/Suckering


North American Distribution


General Description

Bloom Description: Paniculate blooms are bronzy, reddish-purple, sometimes drying to tan. From New Moon Nursery: "The individual spikelets are flattened, purplish and about ¼” long."

Growth Habit & Shape: A low, bunching perennial grass with a softly mounding habit, reaching 1 to 3 feet when in flower or fruit. It is often given the common name "tumble grass" because the panicles carrying the seed heads often break off from the plant and blow along the ground in the wind, aiding in seed dispersal.

Soil Preferences: Poor, average to dry soils of medium to coarse texture. Best performance in sandy or gravelly loam in full sun and hot, dry locations.

Root Description: Spreads slowly by rhizomes, to widths of about 3 feet. The roots themselves are fibrous and grow densely, extending to at least ¾ of a meter into the ground, depending on soil conditions.

Garden Uses: Plant in sunny, open, and low perennial borders, in meadows among other short-statured plants, on rain garden berms, as part of a lawn alternative matrix, or on hellstrips and roadsides.

Best Management & Maintenance: Burn or mow in early spring to limit competition from cool-season plants. If reseeding is undesirable, cut flower stalks to the ground before fruits mature in late summer or early fall.

Common Problems: Abiotic: rich, moist soils are not conducive to growth, and lovegrass will be out-competed by other species.

Benefits

Ornamental Value: Creates billowing, fluffy texture and rich color as the inflorescence turns bronzy purple/red and the leaves senesce in late summer.

Wildlife Benefits: Supports the paradoxical grass moth as a larval host plant; this grass is exceptionally popular with insect herbivores such as leafhoppers. Birds use the dry panicles for nesting.

Other Practical/Environmental Benefits: Robust erosion control on roadsides and hillsides; tolerance to black walnut.

Use in place of: Other early successional grasses like Digitaria spp. (crabgrasses) and European lawn species such as Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass).

Ecology

Habitat:
Per Illinois Wildflowers: : "hill prairies, sand prairies, upland savannas and sandy savannas, limestone glades, sandy or gravelly areas along railroads, sandy or gravelly roadsides, sandy paths, and fields. Disturbed sandy areas are preferred.”


Response to Disturbance: This grass is an early-successional species that is mainly present in disturbed habitats. It can easily be outcompeted by taller and longer-lived perennials, trees and shrubs, and requires open soil to reseed. As per USDA Plant Fact sheet this plant "increases under controlled annual burning."

Native State Distributions:
Canada: ON, QC
USA: AL, AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY


Wetland indicator status: UPL

References

Return to Top

purple lovegrass - Eragrostis spectabilis from Native Plant Trust
purple lovegrass - Eragrostis spectabilis from Native Plant Trust
purple lovegrass - Eragrostis spectabilis from Native Plant Trust
purple lovegrass - Eragrostis spectabilis from Native Plant Trust