Imperata brevifolia

California satintail

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

California satintail is a rare (CNPS 2B.1) California native perennial found in northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range foothills, southern Sierra Nevada foothills, San Joaquin Valley, southern California coastal areas, Transverse Ranges, and desert regions in wet springs, meadows, streambanks, and floodplains at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from September to May, this plant produces white plume-like inflorescences densely covered in silky hairs that appear speckled with brown anthers. Growing with robust rhizomes 70 to 150 centimeters tall, it forms dense grass-like clumps with hard, scaly underground stems. Its leaves are narrow, 15 to 50 centimeters long and 4 to 15 millimeters wide, with densely ciliate ligules at the base of each blade. Its distinctive white-silky flower plumes, which can reach 1 to 3 decimeters in length, create a soft, feathery appearance characteristic of this grassland species.

Habitat: Wet springs, meadows, streambanks, floodplains

Bloom period: Sep-May

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, CaRF, s SNF, SnJV, SCo, TR, D

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Lake, Inyo, Fresno, Tehama, Tulare, Imperial, Butte, Kern

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