Festuca subuliflora
Crinkle-awn fescue, Crinkle-Awn Fescue
(c) D Defreese, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Festuca subuliflora (Crinkle-awn fescue) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by . Distinguished by crinkled awns and coastal forest habitat.
Crinkle-awn fescue is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and San Francisco Bay Area regions in redwood and oak/pine forest near streams at elevations generally below 700 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces pale green to yellow flowers in an open panicle 10 to 20 centimeters long with drooping branches. Growing in loose clumps with leafy stems 60 to 100 centimeters tall, its stems have visible nodes and are well-structured. Its soft leaf blades are 15 to 30 centimeters long, 2.5 to 8 millimeters wide, and slightly flat with sparse hairs, while its distinctive lemmas feature crinkled awns 10 to 15 millimeters long. The spikelets are 8 to 12.5 millimeters long, with florets that have hairy bases and slightly forked tips.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 18 sympatric species. Distinguished by crinkled awns and coastal forest habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Near streams, redwood, oak/pine forest
Elevation: generally < 700 m
California counties: Butte, Humboldt, Del Norte, Plumas, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Nevada, Yuba, Calaveras, Trinity
Outside California: to British Columbia, especially near coast
Bloom period
Festuca subuliflora blooms May-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 subuliflora native to California?
Yes. Festuca subuliflora is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Festuca subuliflora bloom?
Festuca subuliflora blooms May-Aug.
Where in California does Festuca subuliflora grow?
Festuca subuliflora occurs in Butte, Humboldt, Del Norte, Plumas, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Mendocino, Siskiyou and other counties, at elevations of generally < 700 m.
What plant family does Festuca subuliflora belong to?
Festuca subuliflora is in the Poaceae family, genus Festuca.
What habitat does Festuca subuliflora grow in?
Festuca subuliflora grows in Near streams, redwood, oak/pine 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.