Eragrostis ferruginea seed

LATIN NAME: Eragrostis ferruginea

COMMON NAME: Rust-Coloured Love Grass

A quiet grass of the dry meadows and the roadsides, the rust-coloured love grass does not shout, but it is everywhere in its range. It grows as a densely tufted, perennial grass, reaching up to a metre or so, with the fine, narrow, flat or folded leaves and, through the late summer, the fine, open, airy heads of the many small, dry grains, taking on a warm, rusty or purplish tint as the season turns. The whole plant has a soft, feathery look, and the heads sway gently in the lightest breeze, catching the low sun of the late afternoon. It is a species of the true grass in the grass family, native to the dry meadows and the open places of the eastern Asia, while it is treasured for its fine, airy, rust-tinted heads, and it is known as the rust-coloured love grass.

The rust-coloured love grass belongs to the true grass family, Poaceae, and it is a densely tufted, perennial grass of the dry meadows and the open places of the eastern Asia, while it is treasured for its fine, airy, rust-tinted heads, and it is known as the rust-coloured love grass. It is a close relative of the many love grasses grown as the ornamental grasses of the border. It is prized for its fine, open, airy heads.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Grassland ecologists have kept an eye on the love grass for its tough, tufted, soil-holding ways. Its dense, fibrous roots bind the loose, dry ground, and the grass has been studied as a builder of the meadow and the bank, while its fine, airy heads of the small grains feed the seed-eating birds and have been written about in the botanical papers. Its value as a fodder grass of the dry pasture has also been looked at, and its quick, easy ways have made it a candidate for the low-care meadow mixes. The grass has been studied for its tough, tufted growth on the dry slopes, and for its fine, airy, rust-tinted heads that make it a valued grass of the late-summer meadow. For a grass that holds its ground quietly, the rust-coloured love grass has a steady and continuing record of study.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

For the grazier and the gardener alike, the rust-coloured love grass is a dependable plant. Its fine, airy, rust-tinted heads give a soft, warm texture to the meadow and the border, and its dense, tufted growth holds the bank and the dry slope, while its small grains feed the birds through the autumn. Its leafy growth has long been a fodder of the dry pasture, and its low-care ways have made it a valued grass of the meadow garden. In the autumn border its airy, rust-tinted heads catch the low light beautifully, and they stand well through the winter, keeping a soft, warm presence in the garden. The rust-coloured love grass is an easy, generous grass for the grower, and for the gardener it brings an airy, rust-tinted grass to the border. Rake the ground smooth, scatter the fine grains over the surface and press them in gently with the back of the rake, keep the ground lightly moist in a bright, open spot, and the first green shoots will thread up in good time.