Eragrostis reptans (Michx.) Nees, creeping lovegrass. Annual, clonal, mat–forming, fibrous–rooted; dioecious; shoots with 2–ranked cauline leaves, at each node having a axillary shoot; adventitious roots at nodes.
Stems cylindric, to 1.5 mm diameter, tough, swollen at nodes, internodes to 53 × 1—3 mm, mostly glabrous; essentially solid.
Leaves alternate distichous, simple with sessile; prophyll triangular in outline, ca. 4 mm long, 2–keeled and strongly folded along keels, membranous, margins to 0.5 mm wide, short–ciliate along keels; sheath open, ridged, with membranous margins, glabrous or with several pilose hairs on midvein on back and subtending and adjacent to ligule; ligule with short membranous base and short–ciliate on margin, < 0.5 mm long; collar white, pilose–ciliate, with pilose hairs on both surfaces; blade linear folded upward from midrib, in range 5—25 × 1—2 mm, the widest at base, minutely toothed on margins, blunt at tip, parallel–veined, smooth and finely striped, glabrous.
Inflorescences spikelets, unisexual, in spikes, with dense cluster of spikes terminal on lateral shoots, bracteate, lacking awns, lacking glands.
Staminate inflorescence spike linear strongly compressed, < 10—34 × 1.8—4 mm, to 60 alternate distichous florets, typically straight; glumes 2, unequal, lower glume in range 1—1.2 mm long, 1–veined, not scabrous, upper glume ± 2 mm long, keeled, 1–veined, scabrous above midpoint; lemma keeled, 2.7—3 mm long, 3–veined with veins not converging at tip, keel scabrous approaching tip; palea 2–keeled, ca. 2 mm long, folded along keels, green, short–ciliate.
Staminate flower perianth (lodicules) 2, narrowly fan–shaped, 0.3—0.35 mm long; stamens 3, free; filaments threadlike, 2—3 mm long, white; anthers exserted above midpoint of lemma, dorsifixed, dithecal, ± 1.6 mm long, cream–colored with rose at tip, longitudinally dehiscent; pistil absent.
Pistillate inflorescence panicle of spikes, spikes ovate in outline strongly compressed, to 12 × 3 mm, having to 25 alternate distichous florets, often strongly curved to flat side, peduncle to 4 mm long; spikelets breaking below each fertile floret; glumes 2, unequal, 1–veined, lower glume ca. 0.7 mm long, upper glume keeled, 1.4 mm long, keel not scabrous, deciduous; lemma > glume, 3–veined but lateral veins not reaching tip, keel scabrous above midpoint, deciduous; palea 2–keeled, ± 1.5 mm long, < lemma, folded along keels, veins green, short–ciliate along keels, persistent.
Pistillate flower perianth (lodicules) 2, narrowly fan–shaped, 0.3—0.35 mm long; stamens absent; pistil 1, 3 mm long; ovary superior, broadly ellipsoid compressed side–to–side, 0.3—0.35 mm long, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style exserted from lemma, white, deeply 2–branched (fused at base), the branches threadlike, exserted portion bottlebrushlike.
Fruit achene (caryopsis) ovoid flattened side–to–side, ca. 0.9 × 0.4 mm, pale brown reddish near base, with beak (base of style) at tip to 0.3 mm long.
A. C. Gibson