Festuca subulata
Bearded fescue
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Festuca subulata (Bearded fescue) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by . Distinguished by wide flat leaves and long awns.
Bearded fescue is a California native perennial grass found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, and northern and central Sierra Nevada in open places, moist banks, and forests at elevations generally below 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces delicate drooping flower branches in open inflorescences 10 to 40 centimeters long. Growing in loosely clumped formations with stems 35 to 120 centimeters tall and visible nodes, it spreads through short rhizomes. Its flat leaf blades are 10 to 30 centimeters long and 3 to 10 millimeters wide, with surfaces that are glabrous or minutely scabrous. Each spikelet features distinctive lemmas with awns 5 to 20 millimeters long, giving the grass its characteristic "bearded" appearance.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 16 sympatric species. Distinguished by wide flat leaves and long awns
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open places, moist banks, forest
Elevation: generally < 2500 m
California counties: Plumas, Humboldt, Madera, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Butte, Trinity, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Yuba, San Bernardino, Placer, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz, Inyo, Sierra, Tehama
Outside California: to Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado
Bloom period
Festuca subulata blooms Jun-Aug.
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 subulata native to California?
Yes. Festuca subulata is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Festuca subulata bloom?
Festuca subulata blooms Jun-Aug.
Where in California does Festuca subulata grow?
Festuca subulata occurs in Plumas, Humboldt, Madera, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Butte, Trinity, Del Norte and other counties, at elevations of generally < 2500 m.
What plant family does Festuca subulata belong to?
Festuca subulata is in the Poaceae family, genus Festuca.
What habitat does Festuca subulata grow in?
Festuca subulata grows in Open places, moist banks, forest.
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.