Mourning Love Grass

Eragrostis lugens

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in marshes, roadsides, low fields. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height: Up to about 28 inches
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: June to January

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 30 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Eragrostis

Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eragrostis

Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Poaceae
Flower color: Green, purple or brown

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to January” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Green, purple or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 28 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Louisiana rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
LA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source