Brown's Lovegrass

Perennial. Culms slender, tufted, erect or geniculate at base, 15–60 cm tall, 0.5–1 mm in diam.,2–5-noded. Leaf sheaths glabrous and smooth, pilose along summit; ligules membranous, ca. 0.2 mm; leaf blades flat or involute, 3–10 cm × 1–3 mm. Panicle 3–18 cm; branches solitary with spikelets at base. Spikelets livid green, purplish or dark brown, oblong-elliptic, 4–20 × 1.5–2.5 mm, 7- to many-flowered, subsessile or with very short pedicel, apex acute. Glumes ovate-lanceolate, 1–2 mm; lower glume 1-veined, ca. 1.2 mm; upper glume 1–3-veined,the laterals usually faint, ca. 1.8 mm. Lower lemmas 2–2.5 mm. Palea slightly shorter than lemma, 1.5–2 mm, ciliolate along keels, apex emarginate. Stamens 3; anthers 0.3–1.3 mm. Caryopsis dark brown, ca. 0.5 mm. Fl. spring.

Anhui, Fujian, Hainan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka; Australia, Pacific Islands].

Mountain slopes, open places, roadsides; ca. 1000 m.

Poa brownii Kunth, Révis. Gramin. 1: 112. 1829; Eragrostis zeylanica Nees & Meyen; E. bellissima B. S. Sun & S. Wang.

Eragrostis brownii is a widespread species of grass known as Browns lovegrass. Found in Australia and New Zealand, it may be seen growing in woodland or pasture. The grass may grow up to .6 m (2 ft 0 in) tall. The specific epithet brownii is named in honour of the Scottish botanist Robert Brown.