Blepharidachne kingii

King's eyelash grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

King's eyelash grass is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and desert mountains in pinyon and juniper woodland at elevations of 900 to 2,150 meters. Flowering from May to June, this delicate grass produces straw-colored to purple inflorescences in compact clusters 1 to 2 centimeters long. Growing in tufted clumps with slender stems 3 to 8 centimeters tall, it forms dense, compact bunches with stiff, curved leaves. Its narrow leaf blades are less than 1 millimeter wide, sharp-pointed, and often deciduous, with distinctive tufts of hair at the leaf sheath throat. The grass features delicate spikelets 6 to 9 millimeters long with papery, translucent glumes that are soft-hairy at the base.

Habitat: Pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 900-2150 m

Bioregions: SNE, DMtns

California counties: Inyo, Mono, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino

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