BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Eragrostis intermedia | Plains Lovegrass 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Plains lovegrass is a native, warm-season, C-4, perennial bunchgrass
[24,31,33,34].  Culms are wiry [19], erect, pith filled to hollow [24],
and 12 to 35 inches (30-90 cm) tall [19].  Leaf blades are 4 to 10
inches [10-25 cm] long [25,26]. The inflorescence is an erect, open,
diffuse, pyramidal panicle [24,25] 6 to 14 inches (15-35 cm) long.
Spikelets are three- to nine-flowered [19,25,31]; the fruit is a
caryopsis [25].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Plains lovegrass sprouts from perennating buds at the bases of culms
[24].  It also reproduces by seed [25].  Dispersal occurs when the
large, loose, fruiting stalks detach and tumble across the ground,
releasing seed [8].

Plains lovegrass seeds were collected from plants growing at two
semidesert grassland sites in south-central Arizona, one not irrigated
and one irrigated.  Rate of germination was tested 7 months after
harvest.  The seeds from irrigated land were germinable (18%) in the
laboratory at moderate temperature alternations representative of wet
seedbeds in April (50/86 degrees Fahrenheit [10/30 deg C]).  However,
maximum germination (47%) occurred at temperature alternations of 68/104
degrees Fahrenheit (20/40 deg C), which is similar to wet seedbed
temperature extremes during the summer rainy period when plains
lovegrass usually emerges.  Plains lovegrass seeds from unirrigated
plants had much lower germination rates than those from irrigated
plants.  Germination response varied with seed collection year [41].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Plains lovegrass is found on dry or sandy prairies [25], dry slopes
[19], rocky hillsides, in canyons [29], open woods [24], and on
disturbed sites [49].  Its occurrence is related to topography, but
varies from one area to another.  Plains lovegrass in south-central
Arizona showed a strong positive correlation with slope.  Over 60
percent of occurrences were on slopes steeper than 30 percent [14].  In
southeastern Arizona, plains lovegrass on undisturbed grassland occurred
on level to gently rolling uplands [8].  In northwestern Arizona, plains
lovegrass was found on rocky ledges and among boulders in interior
chaparral [13].

Plains lovegrass grows on most soil textures [15,16,20,21,35,36,48].  In
south-central Arizona it is most productive on sands and sandy loams
with weak profile development.  It shows intermediate productivity on
soil with well developed horizons and clayey subsoils.  It is least
productive on shallow, stony, and cobbly soil [14].

Plains lovegrass often grows in areas where annual precipitation is
bimodal, with a wet season in winter and another in summer.  Over half
the annual rainfall usually occurs in summer, when the bulk of plains
lovegrass forage is produced [47,48].  Spring and fall are generally
characterized by drought [48].  Mean annual precipitation usually
exceeds 15.7 inches (400 mm).  Winters are mild [11,12].

In Arizona, plains lovegrass is found at elevations from 3,500 to 6,000
feet (1,067-1,829 m) [15,29,36,40].  In New Mexico, it grows at
elevations from 3,800 to 8,500 feet (1,158-2,591 m) [21].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Plains lovegrass is apparently not tolerant of dense cover.  In Arizona,
plains lovegrass is not abundant in interior chaparral with dense crown
cover (>70%) except in the scattered interscrub openings, on rocky
outcrops, or in early postfire succession [38].  Plains lovegrass did
occur in chaparral with shrub cover of 60.5 percent and average herb
cover of 12.4 percent.  The sparse herb layer was composed of plains
lovegrass and red brome (Bromus rubens) [43].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Plains lovegrass growth starts in early spring; it is one of the first
herbs to green up [31].

Plains lovegrass blooms in spring in central Florida [49] and from June
to September in Arizona [29].  Seed dispersal in Arizona begins in late
summer [8].

A minimum of 2 years is required for plains lovegrass to tiller.  Culms
produced during the current summer originated as basal buds that broke
dormancy either during the preceding spring, or more commmonly, the
preceding fall.  A wet fall, or a wet winter and spring, activates basal
buds and enlarges individual plants.  Two good rainfall summers in
succession, or a good rainfall summer preceded by an exceptionally wet
spring, can be expected to produce high forage yields.  Production will
be low in drought years because few culms are produced [32].

Related categories for Species: Eragrostis intermedia | Plains Lovegrass