Ehrharta erecta

Panic veldt grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Panic veldt grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in coastal California regions including Humboldt County, San Francisco Bay Area, southern coastal ranges, and desert areas at elevations generally below 915 meters. Flowering from March to June, this aggressive grass produces pale green to green-white spikelets in open panicle-like clusters 6 to 20 centimeters long. Growing with erect or ascending stems 40 to 100 centimeters tall that can root from lower nodes, it spreads readily in disturbed, often shady and moist habitats. Its leaf blades are 5 to 15 centimeters long, 4 to 15 millimeters wide, with flat, generally glabrous surfaces and often wavy margins. The grass has distinctive pale green spikelets 3 to 6 millimeters long with unequal glumes and multiple stamens.

Habitat: Disturbed, often shady, moist sites

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: generally < 915 m

Bioregions: NCo (Humboldt Co.), CCo, e SnFrB (aggressive), SCoRO, SCo, WTR, D

California counties: San Francisco, Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Imperial, San Bernardino, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Mendocino, Marin, Yolo, Sonoma, Humboldt

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