Festuca microstachys

Small fescue

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Small fescue is a California native annual grass found in disturbed, open areas with sandy soils at elevations generally below 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this grass produces pale green to green flowers in open, spreading inflorescences up to 24 centimeters long. Growing with slender stems 15 to 75 centimeters tall and a glabrous (smooth) surface, it develops delicate, angular spikelets. Its leaves are thin and narrow, typical of fescue grasses, with a loose, open growth habit. The fruit is approximately 4 to 6 millimeters long, with individual florets bearing small awns 3.5 to 12 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Disturbed, open, generally sandy soils

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: generally < 1500 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: Mendocino, San Bernardino, Kern, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Monterey, Glenn, Yolo, Napa, Inyo, San Diego, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, San Benito, Ventura, Fresno, El Dorado, Lassen, Orange, Amador, Butte, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Trinity, Shasta, Siskiyou, San Mateo, San Joaquin, Plumas, Tehama, Madera, Santa Clara, Merced, Lake, Santa Cruz, Mono, Kings

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