Calamagrostis stricta subsp. inexpansa

Thurber's reed grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

Thurber's reed grass is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada, and central Coast Range in slopes, meadows, and coastal marshes at elevations below 3,400 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces pale green to grayish inflorescences with delicate branches 6 to 20 centimeters long. Growing with erect stems 40 to 120 centimeters tall, the plant has distinctively flat leaves that are strongly rough-textured and often have a bluish-gray upper surface. Its leaf blades are strongly scabrous with ligules 2 to 5.5 millimeters long, creating a distinctive texture when touched. The grass produces small spikelets with thick glumes 3 to 6 millimeters long and occasionally features an asymmetrical, stiff awn on its lemma.

Habitat: Slopes, meadows, coastal marshes

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 3400 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&ampc SNH, CCo

California counties: Fresno, Inyo, Mendocino, Mono, Plumas, Tulare, Tuolumne, Modoc, Sierra, Lassen, Del Norte, Marin, El Dorado, Madera, Sonoma, Humboldt, Shasta, Mariposa, Alpine, Monterey

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