Eragrostis ciliaris(L.) R.Br.

gophertail lovegrass

WFO wfo-0000867558 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by chiuluan
fig. a chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-05 / obs. 161732657
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. b Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 157476192
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by chiuluan
fig. c chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 115067891
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by chiuluan
fig. d chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 89548984
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by Jade Fortnash
fig. e Jade Fortnash, CC0 1.0 / obs. 191920787
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by Jade Fortnash
fig. f Jade Fortnash, CC0 1.0 / obs. 185276844
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by chiuluan
fig. g chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161734086
Eragrostis ciliaris, photographed by chiuluan
fig. h chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161732894

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 72 botanical countries

Regions where Eragrostis ciliaris is native: Aldabra, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Mozambique Channel Is., Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gulf States, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Laccadive Is., Maluku, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Caroline Is., Marianas, Marshall Is. AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadCongoDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweGulf StatesOmanSaudi ArabiaTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshIndiaMalukuMyanmarPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaVietnam AldabraCape VerdeComorosMauritiusMozambique Channel Is.RéunionSeychellesLaccadive Is.Caroline Is.MarianasMarshall Is.
Native distribution of Eragrostis ciliaris, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Aldabra ALD AFRICA
Algeria ALG
Angola ANG
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Libya LBY
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Mozambique Channel Is. MCI
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
India IND
Laccadive Is. LDV
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Vietnam VIE
Gulf States GST ASIA-TEMPERATE
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Marianas MRN
Marshall Is. MRS

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 31 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Andropogon amboinicus (L.) Merr.
  • Cynodon ciliaris (L.) Raspail
  • Eragrostis amboinensis Trin. ex Steud.
  • Eragrostis amboinicea (L.) Druce
  • Eragrostis arabica Jaub. & Spach
  • Eragrostis boryana (Willd.) Steud.
  • Eragrostis ciliaris (L.) Link
  • Eragrostis ciliaris subsp. brachystachya (Boiss.) H.Scholz
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. brachystachya Boiss.
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. ciliaris
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. clarkei Stapf ex Hook.f.
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. compta (Link) Schrad.
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. latifolia Hack.
  • Eragrostis ciliaris var. laxa Kuntze
  • Eragrostis compta Link
  • Eragrostis lasseri Luces
  • Eragrostis lobata Trin.
  • Eragrostis pulchella Parl.
  • Eragrostis villosa Trin.
  • Erosion ciliare (L.) Lunell
  • Macroblepharus contractus Phil.
  • Megastachya boryana (Willd.) Roem. & Schult.
  • Megastachya ciliaris (L.) P.Beauv.
  • Poa amboinensis L.

and 7 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.