Eragrostis pilosa var. pilosa

Indian lovegrass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

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.

Habitat: Disturbed sandy soils

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 770 m

Bioregions: KR, GV, MP

California counties: Butte, Tehama, Riverside, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Shasta, Glenn, Placer, Yuba, Siskiyou, San Diego, Mariposa, Mono, Santa Clara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.