Description
African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is a relatively large, densely tufted, and long-lived grass usually growing 30 to 120 cm tall. Its hairless stems are usually slender and upright, although they may sometimes be slightly drooping or weeping in nature when mature. The leaves consist of a leaf sheath, which partially encloses the stem, and a spreading leaf blade. Old leaf sheaths turn pale to yellowish and are retained. The leaves are densely tufted near the base of the plant and are often arched towards the ground, giving the plant a weeping appearance. The long and narrow leaf blades (5 to 35 cm long and 0.5 to 5 mm wide) gradually narrow to a pointed tip. Where the leaf sheath meets the leaf blade there is a line of tiny hairs (a ligule) 0.3 to 1 mm long. The leaf blades are roughly textured (scabrous) and often have their margins rolled inwards (Jessop et al. 2006; Navie & Adkins 2007).
The seed-head is a large open panicle (6 to 30 cm long and 4 to 20 cm wide) that is initially rather compact, but usually becomes loose and spreading as it matures. These seed-heads have many branches, several of which may spread from the same point at the base of the cluster. The numerous flower spikelets (4 to 10 mm long and 1 to 1.5 mm wide) are initially grey, greyish-green or purplish in colour, but become paler and turn straw-coloured as they mature. These flower spikelets are somewhat flattened, with a pair of bracts (glumes) at the base and several (4 to 13) tiny flowers (florets). When the flower spikelets are mature they break apart and release the seeds. The seeds are tiny (0.3 to 0.7 mm long), oval or almost round in shape, and can vary from whitish to yellow, orange, brownish or black in colour (Jessop et al. 2006; Navie & Adkins 2007).
For further information and assistance with identification of African Lovegrass contact the herbarium in your state or territory.
Distribution:
African Lovegrass is a very widely naturalised species that is most abundant in the southern and eastern parts of Australia. It is common in eastern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern Queensland and south-western Western Australia and has a more scattered distribution in Victoria and the southern parts of South Australia. It is also present in other parts of New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, naturalised in the southern parts of the Northern Territory, and sparingly naturalised in Tasmania (Navie & Adkins 2007).
Habit:
Grass
Key points:
- African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is a long-lived tussock-forming grass usually growing 30 to 120 cm tall.
- It has an upright habit with branched seed-heads, though it may sometimes develop a weeping nature when mature.
- African Lovegrass spreads from roadsides and disturbed sites into neighbouring pastures and natural areas. It quickly overtakes degraded pastures, and prefers sandy or rocky soils.
- Some forms of African Lovegrass are cultivated as soil stabilisers or are seen as valuable pasture grasses for semi-arid areas. However, the most invasive forms have a lower palatability and are not useful except when they are young.
- African Lovegrass is also regarded as a major environmental weed and can form dense stands which crowd out native species and prevent their regeneration. It is a serious weed of remnant native grassy vegetation and can transform these communities by modifying their composition and structure.
How it spreads:
African Lovegrass reproduces by seed. Seeds can be dispersed in mud, soil and contaminated agricultural produce. They may also be spread by wind, water, animals and vehicles (Parsons & Cuthbertson 2001; Navie & Adkins 2007). For example, slashing infested roadsides is a common method of dispersal, as the seed is easily transported to new areas on the machinery. Animals spread the seeds on their fur and hooves, and recent studies have also shown that cattle feeding on African Lovegrass can excrete viable seed up to 10 days after consumption (Land Protection 2006).
Where it grows:
African Lovegrass is a common weed of semi-arid, sub-tropical and temperate regions that is occasionally also found in tropical and arid environments. It infests roadsides, railway lines, waste areas, disturbed sites, footpaths, pastures, grasslands, open woodlands, waterways and coastal sites (Navie & Adkins 2007).
Flower colour:
Green
Impacts:
African Lovegrass was included in the list of 71 species that were nominated by state and territory governments for assessment as Weeds of National Significance (WONS). Following an assessment process, African Lovegrass was not included as one of the 20 WONS. However, it remains a weed of potential national signficance.
African Lovegrass spreads from roadsides and disturbed sites into neighbouring degraded pastures. It is very competitive with other pasture species and quickly overtakes overgrazed or poor quality pastures, particularly in sandy soils. It is not readily eaten by livestock when mature, and this increases the competition on more preferable pasture species. African Lovegrass also has a low nutritional value, thereby decreasing pasture productivity (Land Protection 2006; Navie & Adkins 2007).
This species is also regarded as a major environmental weed and currently causes significant problems in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. During a recent survey it was listed as a priority environmental weed in ten of Australia’s Natural Resource Management regions (CRC 2006). African Lovegrass is an early coloniser of disturbed sites, grows rapidly, and can form dense stands which crowd out and replace native species, also preventing their regeneration (Navie & Adkins 2007).
In New South Wales it is a particularly serious weed of remnant native grassy vegetation in farming areas, and can transform these threatened communities by modifying their composition, structure and processes. For example, it is seen as a threat to natural temperate grasslands throughout the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. African Lovegrass is also one of a group of exotic perennial grasses that have been listed as being a “key threatening process” in New South Wales. In Victoria it has also invaded heathlands, woodlands and grasslands and in south-eastern Queensland it is ranked among the top 50 most invasive plant species (Navie & Adkins 2007).
African Lovegrass invasions also pose a threat to the survival of individual threatened species such as the endangered Narrow-petalled Featherflower (Verticordia plumosa var. pleiobotrya) in south-western Western Australia and locally threatened populations of the Pine Donkey Orchid (Diuris tricolor) in the Muswellbrook area in central New South Wales. Because it produces higher fuel loads than native vegetation and is highly flammable, particularly during the dry season, dense infestations can also increase the intensities of bushfires. This has negative impacts for more fire-prone native species and increases the fire hazard to people and property (Navie & Adkins 2007).
Origin:
African Lovegrass is native to southern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) (GRIN 2007).
History:
African Lovegrass seems to have been accidentally introduced into Australia at some time prior to 1900, probably as a contaminant of pasture seed. However, since then other forms of this species have also been deliberately introduced to be used as pasture grasses and/or soil stabilisers (Parsons & Cuthbertson 2001; Silcock 2005). The most well known and widely planted of these is the cultivar known as ‘Consol’, which is more leafy and less weedy than the invasive form of this species.
