Ehrharta calycina
| Ehrharta calycina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Ehrharta |
| Species: | E. calycina |
| Binomial name | |
| Ehrharta calycina Sm. | |
Ehrharta calycina is a species of grass known by the common names perennial veldtgrass and purple veldtgrass. It is native to southern Africa, but it is known elsewhere as an introduced species, often becoming weedy. It is particularly troublesome in California, where it is an invasive weed of chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitat along the southern and central coastal regions.[1] It was first introduced to Davis, California, as a drought-tolerant range grass for grazing.[2][3] It is also known as a weed in parts of Australia. This is a highly variable perennial grass, often but not always rhizomatous, reaching usually 30 to 70 centimeters tall but known to grow much taller. The inflorescence is a narrow to wide open array of spikelets light in color when new and becoming darker and tinted purple to reddish with age.