Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa
Indian lovegrass
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Annual · Native
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa (Indian lovegrass) is a native California annual in the Poaceae family, recognized by gray-green lemmas with purple/red tips and small lower glumes.
Indian lovegrass is a naturalized annual grass found in the Klamath Ranges, Great Valley, and North Coast Ranges in disturbed sandy soils at elevations below 770 meters. Flowering from July to October, this delicate grass produces small gray-green spikelets with purple or reddish tips in open, spreading inflorescences up to 20 centimeters long. Growing 10 to 65 centimeters tall with ascending to erect stems, it has slender, spreading branches that create an airy, open growth habit. Its leaf blades are narrow, 2 to 20 centimeters long and 1 to 3.5 millimeters wide, flat to slightly rolled. The tiny fruits are light to dark brown, ovoid, and smooth, measuring less than one millimeter long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 10 sympatric species; gray-green lemmas with purple/red tips and small lower glumes are diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed sandy soils
Elevation: < 770 m
California counties: Butte, Tehama, Riverside, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Shasta, Glenn, Placer, Yuba, Siskiyou, San Diego, Mariposa, Mono, Santa Clara
Outside California: to eastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico
Bloom period
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa blooms Jul-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 pilosa var. pilosa native to California?
Yes. Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa bloom?
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa blooms Jul-Oct.
Where in California does Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa grow?
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa occurs in Butte, Tehama, Riverside, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Shasta, Glenn and other counties, at elevations of < 770 m.
What plant family does Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa belong to?
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa is in the Poaceae family, genus Eragrostis.
What habitat does Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa grow in?
Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa grows in Disturbed sandy soils.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Eragrostis sp. — Love grass
- Eragrostis barrelieri — Mediterranean love grass
- Eragrostis cilianensis — Stink grass
- Eragrostis curvula — Weeping love grass
- Eragrostis hypnoides — Creeping love grass
- Eragrostis lehmanniana — Lehmann's love grass
- Eriochloa acuminata var. acuminata — Southwestern cup grass
- Eriochloa aristata var. aristata — Awned cup grass
- Eriochloa contracta — Prairie cup grass
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-09-30
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.