Elymus elymoides var. brevifolius

Squirrel tail grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Squirrel tail grass is a California native perennial found in the southern Mojave Desert, Peninsular Ranges, Mojave Desert, White and Inyo Mountains, and western California in dry, open areas at elevations of 450 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this grass produces pale green to tan spikelets with distinctive long, bristle-like awns extending 5 to 12 centimeters from each spikelet. Growing with slender, upright stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms dense tufted clumps in arid landscapes. Its leaves are narrow and grass-like, typically 10 to 20 centimeters long, with a pale green to grayish-green coloration. The plant's most distinctive feature is its dramatically long, thread-like awns that give the grass a feathery, delicate appearance when mature.

Habitat: Dry, open areas

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 450-3500 m

Bioregions: SnBr, PR, MP, W&ampI, DMoj

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