Hordeum intercedens

Bobtail barley

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 3.2

Bobtail barley is a native annual grass found in southern San Joaquin Valley, southern Coastal Ranges, southern California, Channel Islands, and Peninsular Ranges in vernal pools, dry saline streambeds, and alkaline flats at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces pale green flowers in compact inflorescences 2.5 to 6.5 centimeters long. Growing with stems 5 to 40 centimeters tall that are loosely tufted and often bent at the base, it has distinctively hairy stems with nodes generally covered in pubescent hairs. Its leaves are 9 centimeters long, up to 4 millimeters wide, and sparsely to densely covered in long spreading hairs on both surfaces. The central spikelet features glumes 9 to 17 millimeters long with a lemma awn 5.5 to 10 millimeters long that slightly spreads with age.

Habitat: Vernal pools, dry, saline streambeds, alkaline flats

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: SnJV, SCoRO, SCo, ChI, PR

California counties: Riverside, Orange, Tulare, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, Nevada, Ventura, Kern, Kings, Mono, San Benito, Merced, San Luis Obispo, Fresno

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