Muhlenbergia asperifolia

Scratch grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Scratch grass is a California native perennial found in moist, often alkaline meadows, seeps, and hot springs at elevations of 120 to 2,150 meters. Flowering from July to October, this grass produces delicate purple-tinged flower clusters in open, spreading panicles 6 to 17 centimeters long. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 10 to 60 centimeters tall, it spreads via shiny, scaly rhizomes that form loose, intricate patches. Its leaves are fine and narrow, 2 to 6 centimeters long and 1 to 2.8 millimeters wide, typically flat or slightly folded with truncate, minutely ciliate ligules. The plant forms distinctive spreading branches with small, acute spikelets bearing purple anthers, giving it a delicate, textured appearance in meadow environments.

Habitat: Moist, often alkaline meadows, seeps, hot springs

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: 120-2150 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside, Lassen, Inyo, Tulare, Mono, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Modoc, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Benito, Orange, Siskiyou, Nevada, San Luis Obispo, Alpine, Butte, Merced, Plumas, San Joaquin, Shasta, Stanislaus, Lake, Colusa, Monterey, Tuolumne, Mariposa

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