Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides
Needle grama
Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native
Needle grama is a California native annual grass found in eastern Peninsular Ranges, eastern Mojave Desert, and Sonoran Desert in dry, open sandy to rocky slopes, scrub, and woodland habitats at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this plant produces small, delicate grass flowers in pendulous branches that are light tan to green. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 5 to 35 centimeters tall, it has a characteristic sprawling growth habit. Its narrow leaves are less than 7 centimeters long and less than 2 millimeters wide, forming sparse, fine blades. The grass produces distinctive branching seed heads with 4 to 16 pendulous branches that detach when mature, each carrying 1 to 4 small spikelets.
Habitat: Dry, open, sandy to rocky slopes, flats, washes, disturbed sites, scrub, woodland
Bloom period: All year
Elevation: < 1800 m
Bioregions: e PR, e&s DMoj, DSon
California counties: San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, 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.