Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana
Mexican love grass, Mexican Love Grass
Photo: parent species Eragrostis mexicana · (c) Sue Carnahan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana (Mexican love grass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by ovate to oblong spikelets and rectangular fruit distinguish from other subspecies.
Mexican love grass is a California native annual grass found in the San Joaquin Valley, southern California coastal areas, western Transverse Ranges, and San Bernardino Mountains in disturbed soils, fields, and forest margins at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from May to September, this delicate grass produces small open panicles with branches often bearing scattered glands. Growing with fine, wispy stems that spread and arch gracefully, it forms loose, open clumps typically 30 to 60 centimeters tall. Its narrow leaves are pale green, thin, and flexible, contributing to the grass's soft, airy appearance. The spikelets are noticeably wide, measuring over 1.5 millimeters, with an ovate to oblong shape that distinguishes this delicate love grass.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 11 sympatric species; ovate to oblong spikelets and rectangular fruit distinguish from other subspecies
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed soils in fields, forest margins, disturbed areas
Elevation: < 1500 m
Outside California: to Oklahoma, Texas, northern South America
Bloom period
Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana blooms May-Sep.
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 mexicana subsp. mexicana native to California?
Yes. Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana bloom?
Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana blooms May-Sep.
What plant family does Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana belong to?
Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana is in the Poaceae family, genus Eragrostis.
What habitat does Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana grow in?
Eragrostis mexicana subsp. mexicana grows in Disturbed soils in fields, forest margins, disturbed areas.
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.