About Eragrostis echinochloidea Stapf
Eragrostis echinochloidea Stapf, commonly called African lovegrass in English and Krummelgras ("crumb grass") in Afrikaans, is a grass species native to South Africa, where it occurs in Limpopo, North West, and Northern Cape provinces. It is also found in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia, and is listed as least concern (LC, "safe") on the SANBI Red List. This African lovegrass is a perennial tussock grass that grows upright, reaching knee height. Its leaves have tapered, papery sheaths, and its seed clusters sit sunken under the leaf edges. Its inflorescence is a sparsely branched plume with tightly packed spines along individual branches. These spines are edible by both humans and baboons. A drought-tolerant species, it grows on disturbed veld and stony hillsides. In Deception Valley, one of the three dry riverbeds of Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve, this species flourishes alongside Enneapogon desvauxii and Sporoborus iocladus during the November to April/May rainy season.
