Cynodon dactylon

Bermuda grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Bermuda grass is a naturalized perennial grass found throughout California in disturbed sites at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces small purplish spikelets in distinctive finger-like clusters with 4 to 7 branches. Growing with creeping rhizomes and stolons, it forms dense mats with erect stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall. Its leaf blades are typically less than 6 centimeters long, with white-hairy ligules and occasionally hairy upper surfaces. The grass spreads aggressively through underground runners, creating thick ground cover in disturbed and open areas.

Habitat: Disturbed sites

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: CA (exc MP)

California counties: Kern, San Luis Obispo, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Butte, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Ventura, Alameda, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Yolo, Tulare, Fresno, Colusa, Sutter, Glenn, Amador, Placer, Shasta, Santa Cruz, Napa, Mariposa, Madera, Kings, Contra Costa, Calaveras, Nevada, Tehama, Yuba, Plumas, Stanislaus, Trinity, Solano, El Dorado, Mono

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