Deschampsia sp.
Hair grass, Hair Grass
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Perennial · Variable; species dependent
Deschampsia sp. (Hair grass) is a non-native California perennial in the Poaceae family.
How to tell it apart
vs Oloptum: Deschampsia has hairy spikelet extensions and thread-like basal leaves; Oloptum lacks the fuzzy extension and has wiry, needle-like leaves.; vs Festuca: Deschampsia has airy, open panicles with fuzzy spikelet extensions; Festuca has denser flower clusters without hairy extensions.; vs Panicum: Deschampsia forms basal leaf tufts with hairy spikelet extensions; Panicum has stem leaves and smooth, rounded spikelets.; vs Melica: Deschampsia has hairy spikelet extensions; Melica has a distinctive club-shaped sterile floret cluster at spikelet tips.; vs Poa: Deschampsia has prominent hairy extensions beyond florets; Poa has boat-shaped lemmas with cobwebby hairs at the base only.
Frequently asked questions
Is Deschampsia sp. native to California?
No. Deschampsia sp. is not native to California (recorded as variable; species dependent).
What plant family does Deschampsia sp. belong to?
Deschampsia sp. is in the Poaceae family, genus Deschampsia.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Deschampsia bolanderi — Scribner's grass
- Deschampsia cespitosa — Tufted hair grass
- Deschampsia cespitosa subsp. beringensis
- Deschampsia cespitosa subsp. cespitosa
- Deschampsia cespitosa subsp. holciformis
- Deschampsia danthonioides — Annual hair grass
- Desmazeria rigida — Ferngrass
- Desmazeria sp.
- Digitaria californica var. californica — Arizona cottontop
- Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris — Southern crab grass
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-04-14
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.