Echinochloa colona
Jungle rice
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Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Echinochloa colona (Jungle rice) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by unawned lemmas and small spikelet size.
Jungle rice is a naturalized annual grass found in eastern Klamath Ranges, eastern North Coast Ranges Interior, southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, northern Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, Central Coast, southern San Francisco Bay Area, southwestern California, northern Desert Mountains, and Sonoran Desert in wet fields and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,400 meters. Flowering from June to September, this grass produces white spikelets 2 to 3 millimeters long with pubescent surfaces. Growing with spreading or erect stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall that can root from lower nodes, it forms tufted or mat-like clusters. Its leaf blades are 8 to 22 centimeters long and 3 to 6 millimeters wide, with smooth, glabrous leaf sheaths. The plant's inflorescences are 2 to 13 centimeters long with branches that are glabrous to sparsely strigose.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 6 sympatric species; key features are unawned lemmas and small spikelet size
Habitat and range
Habitat: Wet fields, disturbed areas
Elevation: < 1400 m
California counties: Kern, Alameda, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Yolo, Ventura, Tulare, Butte, Los Angeles, Yuba, Calaveras, Stanislaus, El Dorado, San Joaquin, Nevada, Amador, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Solano, Sutter, San Mateo, Kings, Tehama, Glenn, Plumas, Napa, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa, Inyo, Sacramento, Fresno, Shasta, Madera, Placer
Outside California: southern United States, native to Old, New World tropics
Bloom period
Echinochloa colona blooms Jun-Sep.
How to tell it apart
vs Sorghum: Echinochloa has no ligule and bristly inflorescence; sorghum has a ligule and smooth three-spikelet clusters.; vs Digitaria: Echinochloa lacks a ligule and has bristly branches; crabgrass has a ligule and finger-like smooth branches.; vs Paspalum: Echinochloa has no ligule and bristly flowers; dallisgrass has a ligule and smooth leathery spikelets.; vs Panicum: Echinochloa completely lacks a ligule on upper leaves; panicgrass has a membranous ligule present.; vs Eriochloa: Echinochloa has bristly spikelets without cups; cupgrass has each spikelet sitting in a distinctive cup.
Frequently asked questions
Is Echinochloa colona native to California?
No. Echinochloa colona is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Echinochloa colona bloom?
Echinochloa colona blooms Jun-Sep.
Where in California does Echinochloa colona grow?
Echinochloa colona occurs in Kern, Alameda, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and other counties, at elevations of < 1400 m.
What plant family does Echinochloa colona belong to?
Echinochloa colona is in the Poaceae family, genus Echinochloa.
What habitat does Echinochloa colona grow in?
Echinochloa colona grows in Wet fields, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.