Glyceria striata

Ridged manna grass, Ridged Manna Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Ridged manna grass is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province and North Coast Ranges in wet meadows, streambanks, and conifer forests at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this grass produces small, delicate spikelets with pale greenish flowers arranged in open, spreading branches. Growing 20 to 130 centimeters tall with slender rhizomatous stems 1.5 to 5 millimeters in diameter, it forms dense grass clusters in moist habitats. Its leaves are firm, 2 to 6 millimeters wide, with distinctive ligules 1 to 3.5 millimeters long that help distinguish it from other grass species. The spikelets are small and ovoid, typically 2.5 to 4.5 millimeters long, with 3 to 6 florets featuring boat-shaped lemma tips.

Habitat: Common. Wet meadows, streambanks, conifer forest

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1500-2500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, MP

California counties: Humboldt, Fresno, El Dorado, Mariposa, Riverside, Tuolumne, San Bernardino, Modoc, Siskiyou, Tehama, Nevada, Tulare, Trinity, Alpine, Butte, Del Norte, Lake, Madera, Mendocino, Mono, Sonoma, Placer, Colusa, Plumas, Calaveras, Napa

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