India Lovegrass
Eragrostis pilosa
Found in fields, roadsides, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 59%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 83 animals.
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Widespread birds also seen here (36)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Eragrostis
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
2BirdsRecorded eating Eragrostis in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Wild Turkey10 diet records
- Lapland Longspur1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Eragrostis 2
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
India Love Grass
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications













