Echinochloa oryzicola
Rice barnyardgrass
(c) Dmitriy Bochkov, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Echinochloa oryzicola (Rice barnyardgrass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by rice field habitat, large spikelets, and thickened lemmas.
Rice barnyardgrass is a naturalized annual found in the Sacramento Valley in rice fields at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from July to September, this grass produces dense, erect clusters of small ovate-elliptical spikelets 4 to 6 millimeters long. Growing in tufted clumps 4 to 14 decimeters tall with stiff, ascending stems, it develops densely pubescent lower leaf sheaths that transition to glabrous or partially pubescent upper leaves. Its lower leaf blades are pubescent while upper leaves are generally glabrous, with stiff ascending foliage. The fruit develops as a brownish seed with distinctive lemmas that have an early-withering, acuminate tip marked by a line of minute hairs.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 5 sympatric species; key features are rice field habitat, large spikelets, and thickened lemmas
Habitat and range
Habitat: Rice fields
Elevation: < 100 m
Outside California: native to Asia
Bloom period
Echinochloa oryzicola blooms Jul-Sept.
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 oryzicola native to California?
No. Echinochloa oryzicola is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Echinochloa oryzicola bloom?
Echinochloa oryzicola blooms Jul-Sept.
What plant family does Echinochloa oryzicola belong to?
Echinochloa oryzicola is in the Poaceae family, genus Echinochloa.
What habitat does Echinochloa oryzicola grow in?
Echinochloa oryzicola grows in Rice fields.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Echinochloa oryzoides — Early water grass
- Echinochloa sp. — Barnyard grass
- Echinochloa colona — Jungle rice
- Echinochloa crus-galli — Barnyard grass
- Echinochloa crus-pavonis var. crus-pavonis — Gulf cockspur grass
- Echinochloa esculenta — Japanese millet
- Ehrharta calycina — Perennial veldt grass
- Ehrharta erecta — Panic veldt grass
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-08
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.