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DESCRIPTION
Stinkgrasses are winter or summer annual or perennial grasses, depending on the species and location.
At least one dozen stinkgrass species or subspecies occur in California and the western United States. Also
called lovegrass, some species have tiny wartlike glands on their leaves and flower spikes, which give off
an unpleasant odor. The first cotyeldon (seedling
leaf) is very narrow, light green, and
inconspicuous. Their ligule
has a fringe of straight hairs with a tuft of long hairs on either side at collar base. A seedling's second
and third leaves are light green, short, and roughly 1/10 inch (2.5 mm) wide with tufts of hair arising from
base of the third leaf. In addition to often emitting an unpleasant odor, the protruding hairs on the sheath
just below the collar (where the leaf base wraps around the stem) helps to distinguish mature stinkgrasses
from most other grasses. Flowers occur in multifloreted spikelets, which produce numerous tiny egg-shaped
or lens-shaped seed. Plants can be upright, sprawling, or both, and range from a few inches wide or tall to
over 3 feet, depending on the species and location.
Broadleaf ID illustration.
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