Aristida californica

California three-awn, mojave three-awn, Mojave Three-Awn

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California three-awn is a native perennial grass found in southern California's dry sandy sites, dunes, and shrubland at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from February to November, this plant produces delicate, pale grass-like flowers in loose clusters 5 to 10 centimeters long. Growing with much-branched stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall that are densely hairy, it forms a bushy, spreading clump. Its narrow leaf blades are typically less than 6 centimeters long and generally inrolled, creating a compact, wiry appearance. The distinctive seed heads feature long, narrow awns 20 to 50 millimeters in length that break away from the seed, giving the plant a feathery, delicate texture.

Habitat: dry sandy sites, dunes, shrubland

Bloom period: Feb-Nov

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: Riverside, Imperial, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego

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