Stinkgrass

September 9, 2015

Eragrostis cilianensis (All.) Vign. ex Janchen

Life cycle

Erect to spreading summer annual.

Leaves

Leaves are usually hairless and up to 6 inches long with a tuft of long, soft hair at the collar region. Tiny, warty glands on the leaf margins and sheath release an unpleasant odor.

stinkgrass glands
Tiny, warty glands on the leaf margins of stinkgrass.

Ligule

Hairy.

stinkgrass ligule
Stinkgrass collar region.

Stems

Erect to spreading, up to 2-foot-tall, slender stems are branched at the base. Stems have a ring of tiny glands just below the nodes, which release an unpleasant odor.

Flowers and fruit

The seedhead is a dense to open, tan, gray-green to purple, pyramid-shaped panicle. Flattened and oblong, spikelets contain up to 40 reddish orange to brown, egg-shaped seeds.

stinkgrass new seedhead stinkgrass new spikelet
Stinkgrass seedhead (left). Stinkgrass spikelets (right).

Reproduction

Seeds.

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