Eragrostis unioloides(Retz.) Nees ex Steud.

Chinese lovegrass

WFO wfo-0000868581 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 7 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 7 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by S.MORE
fig. a S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / 2021-09-18 / obs. 158133237
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Kym Nicolson
fig. b Kym Nicolson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 139462466
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. c Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 48825210
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Eugene Popov
fig. d Eugene Popov, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 47699056
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Franz Anthony
fig. e Franz Anthony, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60122842
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Franz Anthony
fig. f Franz Anthony, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55469899
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by S.MORE
fig. g S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 158133261
Eragrostis unioloides, photographed by Agnes Trekker
fig. h Agnes Trekker, CC0 1.0 / obs. 153040754

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 32 botanical countries

Regions where Eragrostis unioloides is native: China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Oman, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Queensland, Caroline Is. China South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanOmanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueensland Andaman Is.Laccadive Is.Nicobar Is.Caroline Is.
Native distribution of Eragrostis unioloides, 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
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC

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 20 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.

  • Eragrostis amabilis var. contracta Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. contracta Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. effusa Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. effusa Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. prostrata Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. prostrata Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. scabriuscula Buse
  • Eragrostis amabilis var. scabriuscula Buse
  • Eragrostis euchroa Steud.
  • Eragrostis formosana Hayata
  • Eragrostis rubens (Lam.) Hochst. ex Miq.
  • Eragrostis rubens f. linearis Boerl.
  • Eragrostis rubens var. contracta (Buse) Miq.
  • Eragrostis rubens var. effusa (Buse) Miq.
  • Eragrostis rubens var. scabriuscula (Buse) Miq.
  • Eragrostis unioloides var. ongiemensis A.Camus
  • Eragrostis unioloides var. tremula K.C.Jacob
  • Poa rubens Lam.
  • Poa unioloides Retz.
  • Uniola indica Spreng.

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.