Leptochloa panicea subsp. brachiata

Red sprangletop, Red Sprangletop

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Red sprangletop is a California native annual found in the Desert bioregion in wet sites and drying ponds at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from September to December, this plant produces purple-tinged spikelets in compact clusters 3 to 20 centimeters long. Growing with generally erect stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall that are sometimes reddish or purple, it has a distinctive grass-like appearance. Its leaves have papillate-hairy sheaths with blades 5 to 30 centimeters long and 3 to 20 millimeters wide, featuring ligules 1 to 3 millimeters long. The delicate spikelets are compressed, with small purple glumes and 3 to 4 florets per spikelet.

Habitat: Wet sites, drying ponds

Bloom period: Sep-Dec

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: D

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