Festuca pratensis
Meadow fescue
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Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Festuca pratensis (Meadow fescue) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by . Distinguished by narrow inflorescence, awnless lemmas, clasping auricles.
Meadow fescue is a naturalized perennial grass found in California Floristic Province and Great Basin regions in disturbed places at elevations generally below 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this grass produces small greenish spikelets in narrow clusters 10 to 25 centimeters long. Growing in loosely clumped form with stems 30 to 130 centimeters tall, it has visible nodes and erect leafy stems. Its leaves are flat or loosely rolled, 10 to 30 centimeters long and 2 to 7 millimeters wide, with small auricles that partially clasp the stem. The spikelets contain 4 to 10 florets, with each lemma measuring 6 to 8 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 20 sympatric species. Distinguished by narrow inflorescence, awnless lemmas, clasping auricles
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed places
Elevation: generally < 2000 m
California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, Siskiyou, Inyo, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, Nevada, Modoc, Contra Costa, Plumas, Lassen, Humboldt, Trinity, Tuolumne, Alameda, Mariposa, Mono, Del Norte, Shasta, Santa Clara, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Alpine, Ventura, Butte, Mendocino, Marin, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Placer, Sacramento, Solano
Outside California: to eastern North America, native to Eurasia
Bloom period
Festuca pratensis blooms May-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Bromus: Festuca sheaths split open; Bromus sheaths stay closed around the stem.; vs Lolium: Festuca spikelets branch from multiple points; Lolium spikelets sit flat against one side of stem.; vs Aciphylla: Festuca is a grass with thin blade leaves; Aciphylla has rigid spine-tipped tufts.; vs Poa: Festuca lemmas have 5+ veins; Poa lemmas show only 3-5 veins with cobwebby hairs at base.; vs Muhlenbergia: Festuca has multi-flowered chunky spikelets; Muhlenbergia has delicate single-flowered tiny spikelets.
Frequently asked questions
Is Festuca pratensis native to California?
No. Festuca pratensis is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Festuca pratensis bloom?
Festuca pratensis blooms May-Jul.
Where in California does Festuca pratensis grow?
Festuca pratensis occurs in San Bernardino, Kern, Siskiyou, Inyo, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, Nevada and other counties, at elevations of generally < 2000 m.
What plant family does Festuca pratensis belong to?
Festuca pratensis is in the Poaceae family, genus Festuca.
What habitat does Festuca pratensis grow in?
Festuca pratensis grows in Disturbed places.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.