Ehrharta calycina
Perennial veldt grass
(c) Christopher Stephens, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Ehrharta calycina (Perennial veldt grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by perennial habit, narrow leaves, purple sheaths, and awnless fertile lemmas.
Perennial veldt grass is a naturalized grass found in southern North Coast Ranges, southern North Coast interior, Sacramento Valley, southern Coast Ranges, and southwestern California in sandy soils at elevations generally below 500 meters. Flowering from March to July, this grass produces pale green to purplish spikelets in open panicles 5 to 25 centimeters long. Growing with erect stems 30 to 75 centimeters tall, it spreads through rhizomatous growth and forms dense clumps. Its leaf blades are narrow, less than one centimeter wide and 5 to 20 centimeters long, with purple-tinged sheaths and small ciliate auricles. The spikelets are 4 to 8 millimeters long, with soft-hairy sterile lemmas and relatively equal glumes that become purplish as they mature.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 2 sympatric species; distinguished by perennial habit, narrow leaves, purple sheaths, and awnless fertile lemmas
Habitat and range
Habitat: Sandy soils
Elevation: generally < 500 m
California counties: Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Sonoma, Marin, Monterey, Del Norte, San Benito, Yolo, Santa Cruz
Outside California: Texas, native to southern Africa
Bloom period
Ehrharta calycina blooms Mar-Jul.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
Frequently asked questions
Is Ehrharta calycina native to California?
No. Ehrharta calycina is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Ehrharta calycina bloom?
Ehrharta calycina blooms Mar-Jul.
Where in California does Ehrharta calycina grow?
Ehrharta calycina occurs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Sonoma and other counties, at elevations of generally < 500 m.
What plant family does Ehrharta calycina belong to?
Ehrharta calycina is in the Poaceae family, genus Ehrharta.
Is Ehrharta calycina invasive in California?
Ehrharta calycina is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
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.