Eragrostis curvula
Weeping love grass
(c) Ed Alverson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ed Alverson · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Eragrostis curvula (Weeping love grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by unique as the only perennial with distinctive thread-like drooping leaves.
Weeping love grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in the Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern coastal ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and Mojave Desert at elevations below 700 meters, commonly growing along roadsides. Flowering from August to October, this grass produces small gray-green spikelets with purple anthers in open, generally nodding inflorescences up to 35 centimeters wide. Growing in dense tufts with erect, unbranched stems 40 to 120 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clumps with long, thread-like leaves that taper to a narrow point. Its leaves are narrow and inrolled, typically 20 to 50 centimeters long, with slightly rough surfaces and long hairs near the collar. The fruit is a small, light brown seed approximately 1.5 millimeters long, produced in flexible, open branching clusters.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 11 sympatric species; unique as the only perennial with distinctive thread-like drooping leaves
Habitat and range
Habitat: Roadsides
Elevation: < 700 m
Outside California: to southern United States, native to southern Africa
Bloom period
Eragrostis curvula blooms Aug-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Poa: Eragrostis spikelets are many-flowered and laterally flattened with 3-veined lemmas and no cobwebby tuft at the floret base; Poa lemmas are 5-veined, keeled and boat-tipped, often with webby hairs at the base.; vs Bromus: Eragrostis lemmas are small and awnless with 3 prominent veins; Bromus lemmas are larger, many-veined, and usually bear an awn from a notched tip.; vs Sporobolus: Eragrostis spikelets carry several florets each; Sporobolus spikelets hold a single floret and the ripe seed often falls free or swells with mucilage.; vs Muhlenbergia: Eragrostis spikelets are many-flowered and awnless in an open panicle; Muhlenbergia spikelets are 1-flowered and the lemma is commonly awn-tipped.; vs Leptochloa: Eragrostis carries spikelets in an open, spreading panicle; Leptochloa arranges them along slender, one-sided spike-like branches.
Frequently asked questions
Is Eragrostis curvula native to California?
No. Eragrostis curvula is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Eragrostis curvula bloom?
Eragrostis curvula blooms Aug-Oct.
What plant family does Eragrostis curvula belong to?
Eragrostis curvula is in the Poaceae family, genus Eragrostis.
What habitat does Eragrostis curvula grow in?
Eragrostis curvula grows in Roadsides.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.