Calamagrostis muiriana

Muir's reed grass, Muir's Reed Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Muir's reed grass is a California native perennial found in central Sierra Nevada Mountains in high-elevation meadows, lake margins, and streambanks at elevations of 2,480 to 3,900 meters. Flowering from July to September, this grass produces small greenish-white flowers in delicate, open clusters 2 to 6 centimeters long. Growing in dense tufts with stems 12 to 34 centimeters tall, it forms compact bunches without underground rhizomes. Its narrow leaves are primarily basal, with fine blades less than half a millimeter wide that curl inward and have three to five subtle veins. The grass produces distinctive awned spikelets with twisted, bent awns extending slightly beyond the glume tips, creating a delicate, feathery appearance.

Habitat: Meadows, lake margins, streambanks

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 2480-3900 m

Bioregions: c&amps SNH.

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