Brachypodium pinnatum
Heath false brome
(c) Christian Berg, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christian Berg · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Brachypodium pinnatum (Heath false brome) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by . Rhizomatous growth and shorter awns distinguish from other perennial species.
Heath false brome is a naturalized perennial grass found in southern North Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and potentially other regions in open woodland, forest edges, and grassland at elevations below 30 meters. Flowering in summer, this grass produces pale green to tan spikelets in compact clusters 4 to 25 centimeters long. Growing 30 to 120 centimeters tall with generally erect stems emerging from spreading rhizomes, it forms dense clumps in open habitats. Its leaf blades are flat, 6 to 45 centimeters long and 1.5 to 7 millimeters wide, becoming slightly rolled when dry. Each spikelet contains 7 to 24 florets with lemmas 6 to 11 millimeters long, bearing delicate awns 1 to 7 millimeters in length.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 2 sympatric species. Rhizomatous growth and shorter awns distinguish from other perennial species.
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open woodland, forest edges and grassland
Elevation: < 30 m
Outside California: Massachusetts, native to Europe
Bloom period
Brachypodium pinnatum blooms Summer.
How to tell it apart
vs Bromus: Brachypodium upper glume has 5-9 veins; Bromus typically has fewer.; vs Ehrharta: Brachypodium has fringed seed case edges; Ehrharta has smooth, hardened sterile lemmas below each fertile floret.; vs Hordeum: Brachypodium spikelets lack long awns and ear-like leaf bases; Hordeum has both.; vs Festuca: Brachypodium has strongly fringed inner bract edges; Festuca bracts are smooth.; vs Hilaria: Brachypodium has solitary spikelets at each node; Hilaria has 3-spikelet clusters.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brachypodium pinnatum native to California?
No. Brachypodium pinnatum is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Brachypodium pinnatum bloom?
Brachypodium pinnatum blooms Summer.
What plant family does Brachypodium pinnatum belong to?
Brachypodium pinnatum is in the Poaceae family, genus Brachypodium.
What habitat does Brachypodium pinnatum grow in?
Brachypodium pinnatum grows in Open woodland, forest edges and grassland.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · 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.