Eragrostis plana Lovegrasses

Eragrostis plana Lovegrasses is a perennial grass native to southern African savannas. It is invasive in grassland ecosystems in southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. In Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where it was accidentally introduced as a seed contaminant in the 1950s, it was then planted across the area as a forage alternative, but has since outcompeted native species in pastures and in native grasslands. The species is currently established on more than two million hectares of grasslands in southern Brazil. There, it flowers every three weeks in the warm months, tolerates frost and resprouts if mowed or grazed. E. plana thrives over compacted soil, being common on roadsides and parking lots, as well as in overgrazed areas. Seeds remain viable in the soil more than 24 years. It has proven a poor forage species and its invasion has resulted in economic losses to cattle ranchers.