Cynosurus cristatus

Crested dogtail grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Crested dogtail grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in coastal California regions including northern, central, and southern coastal areas in fields and disturbed places at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces small, delicate flower spikes in compact clusters less than one centimeter wide. Growing with cespitose (tufted) stems 15 to 80 centimeters tall, it has stems that are sometimes abruptly bent at the base. Its leaves are narrow, with blades 0.5 to 2 millimeters wide and truncate ligules measuring 0.5 to 2.5 millimeters long. The inflorescence features a zigzag central axis with fertile spikelets containing 2 to 5 florets and distinctive sterile spikelets with 6 to 11 florets.

Habitat: Fields, disturbed places

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SCo

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