Eragrostis pectinacea var. pectinacea

Carolina love grass, Carolina Love Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Carolina love grass is a California native annual grass found in open disturbed sites and fields at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from July to November, this grass produces delicate, fine panicles with closely appressed spikelets that spread less than 20 degrees from the branch. Growing with slender stems typically 20 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms loose, airy clusters that sway easily in the wind. Its narrow leaves are soft and thin, arranged alternately along the stem, providing a lightweight, feathery appearance. The grass produces numerous small spikelets that give it a soft, delicate texture characteristic of love grass species.

Habitat: Open disturbed sites, fields

Bloom period: Jul-Nov

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: Butte, Riverside, Modoc, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Lake, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Solano, Imperial, Sacramento, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Yolo, San Mateo, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Plumas, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Fresno, Humboldt, Kern, Marin, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Yuba, Colusa, Glenn, Inyo, Siskiyou, Alameda, Contra Costa, Kings

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