Agrostis exarata
Spike bent grass
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Agrostis exarata (Spike bent grass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by widespread distribution, short ascending branches, and moderate-sized straight to bent awns.
Spike bent grass is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province, Great Basin, and Panamint Mountains in moist or disturbed areas, open woodland, and conifer forest at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces delicate, pale greenish-white spikelets in open to dense inflorescences 5 to 30 centimeters long. Growing with slender stems 8 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms loose, spreading tufts with ascending branches. Its flat leaves are 4 to 15 centimeters long and 2 to 7 millimeters wide, with ligules 2.5 to 4 millimeters long. The spikelets feature small awned lemmas with delicate straight to slightly bent awns less than 3.5 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 19 sympatric species; key features are widespread distribution, short ascending branches, and moderate-sized straight to bent awns
Habitat and range
Habitat: Common. Moist or disturbed areas, open woodland, conifer forest
Elevation: < 2000 m
California counties: Humboldt, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Mono, Monterey, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yuba, Modoc, Orange, San Francisco, Tehama, Tulare, Napa, Glenn, Calaveras, Alameda, Sutter, Stanislaus, Sierra, San Benito, Trinity, Sacramento, Solano, Kings, San Joaquin, Merced, Yolo
Outside California: to Alaska, western United States, Mexico
Bloom period
Agrostis exarata blooms Jun-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Oloptum: Oloptum has prominent bent awns; Agrostis awns are tiny or absent.; vs Holcus: Holcus has velvety-hairy spikelets; Agrostis spikelets are smooth and glossy.; vs Polypogon: Polypogon has dense bristly panicles; Agrostis panicles are airy and delicate.; vs Poa: Poa has boat-shaped lemmas with 5 veins; Agrostis lemmas are rounded with faint veins.; vs Festuca: Festuca has multiple flowers per spikelet; Agrostis has single-flowered spikelets.
Frequently asked questions
Is Agrostis exarata native to California?
Yes. Agrostis exarata is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Agrostis exarata bloom?
Agrostis exarata blooms Jun-Aug.
Where in California does Agrostis exarata grow?
Agrostis exarata occurs in Humboldt, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa and other counties, at elevations of < 2000 m.
What plant family does Agrostis exarata belong to?
Agrostis exarata is in the Poaceae family, genus Agrostis.
What habitat does Agrostis exarata grow in?
Agrostis exarata grows in Common. Moist or disturbed areas, open woodland, conifer forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.