Hilaria rigida
Big galleta
Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Big galleta is a California native perennial found in the Colorado Desert, eastern Mojave Desert, and Sonoran Desert on dry, open, sandy to rocky slopes, flats, washes, sand dunes, scrub, and woodland at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this plant produces small, clustered spikelets in inflorescences 4 to 10 centimeters long. Growing as a bush-like plant 35 to 100 centimeters tall with stems 1.5 to 3.5 millimeters thick, it has distinctive curly node hairs and a branching growth pattern. Its cauline leaves are sparsely to densely tomentose, measuring less than 10 centimeters long and 2 to 4 millimeters wide, with a short ligule less than 1 millimeter long. The plant's spikelets feature complex awns, with central spikelets having up to three awns and lateral spikelets displaying intricate lobed and fringed glume structures.
Habitat: Common. Dry, open, sandy to rocky slopes, flats, and washes, sand dunes, scrub, woodland
Bloom period: All year
Elevation: < 1600 m
Bioregions: PR, e&s DMoj, DSon
California counties: San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.