Aira elegans

Elegant hair grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Elegant hair grass is a naturalized annual grass found in northern Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, western Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in sandy to clay soils at elevations generally below 400 meters. Flowering from April to May, this grass produces delicate pale green to white spikelets in open, spreading inflorescences. Growing with slender stems 9 to 35 centimeters tall that are generally smooth and glabrous, the plant forms loose, airy clusters. Its leaves have smooth sheaths and ligules, with fine, narrow blades characteristic of hair grasses. The small spikelets feature delicate awns approximately 3 millimeters long, adding a feathery texture to the plant's overall appearance.

Habitat: Sandy to clay soils, open sites

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: generally < 400 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, n SNF, ScV, SnFrB, w WTR, PR

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.