Erioneuron is a small genus of grasses in the family Poaceae (order Poales), native to the New World. Its range spans southern North America — from the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and neighboring states) through Mexico — down to disjunct populations in southern South America, including Argentina and Bolivia. The genus was described by John Kunkel Small in 1903.
Plants in this genus are low, tufted grasses with hairy spikelets, giving rise to the common name "woollygrass." GBIF currently recognizes two accepted species: Erioneuron avenaceum (shortleaf woollygrass), found from the southwestern US through Chihuahua to Oaxaca in Mexico, and Erioneuron pilosum (hairy woollygrass), which has the broader range extending into South America. A third species once included in the genus, Erioneuron pulchellum, has since been reclassified as Dasyochloa pulchella and is no longer treated as part of Erioneuron. The name Trichodiclida Cerv. is recorded as a taxonomic synonym of the genus.
Distribution
Erioneuron species are native to the New World, with a range spanning the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and other states) and Mexico, and extending disjunctly to Argentina and Bolivia in South America.
Taxonomy Notes
Erioneuron (family Poaceae, order Poales) was described by John Kunkel Small in 1903; Trichodiclida Cerv. is a recorded synonym. GBIF recognizes two accepted species, E. avenaceum and E. pilosum. A third species formerly included, Erioneuron pulchellum, is now classified as Dasyochloa pulchella.
