Ehrharta longiflora

Long-flowered veldt grass, annual veldt grass, Annual Veldt Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Long-flowered veldt grass is a naturalized annual found in southern coastal California and the Peninsular Ranges in disturbed sites, often on sandy or loamy soils at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from April to May, this grass produces pale green to white spikelets 8 to 18 millimeters long with delicate branching panicles. Growing 15 to 90 centimeters tall with erect or basally bent stems, it develops flat leaf blades 6 to 20 centimeters long that are slightly hairy. Its leaf sheaths are veined and keeled, with small ciliate auricles and a ligule 1 to 2.5 millimeters long. The sterile lemmas have distinctive awns 2 to 20 millimeters long, adding texture to its delicate grass structure.

Habitat: Disturbed sites, often on sandy or loamy soils

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: SCo, PR

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Yolo

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