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Purple Lovegrass

Eragrostis spectabilis

Other common name(s):

Purple Love Grass, Purple Plains Lovegrass, Tumblegrass, Petticoat Climber

Family:

Poaceae (Grass Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, High Plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Canadian/Cimarron High Plains
Canadian/Cimarron Breaks
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Grass & Sedge

Height

.5
to
1.5
ft.

Spread

.5
to
1
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Gravelly, Well Drained, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Low

Native Habitat

Grassland, Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Red, Purple

Bloom Season

Summer

Seasonal Interest

Fall Color, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies

Maintenance

Will grow in dry, gravelly areas where other plants won’t. Spreads by rhizomes and will reseed itself. Cut back dead foliage before new Spring growth. Deer resistant. Propagation: Seed, Clump division.

Comments

Short lived perennial. Grows low to the ground in dense tufts. Fine-textured, stiff inflorescence appears like reddish-purple clouds. Eventually this inflorescence breaks off and floats around like a tumbleweed. Larval Host: Zabulon Skipper butterfly.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym(s): Eragrostis spectabilis var. sparsihirsuta, Poa spectabilis

References

1) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ERSP, 2) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=40717#null, 3) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=18275&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Eragrostis+spectabilis&formsubmit=Search+Terms, 5) https://www.prairienursery.com/purple-lovegrass-eragrostis-spectabilis.html

Get in Touch

Contact the State

Contact a local Chapter

State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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