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Index / Search / Eragrostis spectabilis

§1 Plant

Eragrostis spectabilis (Pursh) Steud.

vernacular purple lovegrass — species · Poaceae

USDA
ERSP
GBIF
2705413
Rank
species
purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
Platephotograph · Sara RallCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Graminoid
Duration
Perennial
Group
Monocot
Family
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus
Eragrostis
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 1,247 counties across 40 states/territories
Legend Native · 1247 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Fire
None
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-43 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
10–60 in/yr
pH range
4–7.5
Root depth
4 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
0.9 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Green
Fruit colour
Yellow
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
1,059,100
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Medium
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 1,247 counties across 40 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 57 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 39 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 21 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 59 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 23 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 73 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 51 N ▾
Louisiana view state ↗ 50 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Maryland view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 28 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 26 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 27 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 70 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 37 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 8 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 17 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 3 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 38 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 68 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 57 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 32 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 32 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 28 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 49 N ▾
Texas view state ↗ 65 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 79 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 42 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ERSP ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2705413 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z