Orcuttia inaequalis

San joaquin valley orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1 · Threatened

San joaquin valley orcutt grass is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in central Sierra Nevada Foothills and San Joaquin Valley in vernal pools at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces delicate pale flowers in densely crowded, head-like inflorescences about 2 to 3.5 centimeters long. Growing in tufted clusters with generally erect stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, occasionally spreading to form small mats, it appears grayish and hairy. Its narrow leaves are 2 to 4 millimeters wide, with distinctive spikelets featuring small glumes about 3 millimeters long and irregularly toothed lemmas. The tiny fruit is widely elliptic, approximately 1.5 millimeters long, characteristic of these specialized vernal pool grasslands.

Habitat: Vernal pools

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: c SNF, SnJV.

California counties: Tulare, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, Madera

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