Panicum capillare

Witch grass, Witch Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Witch grass is a native annual found in California in open places, fields, and roadsides at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to December, this plant produces delicate pale green to whitish panicle-like flower clusters that spread widely. Growing with slender stems 20 to 100 centimeters tall, it has a loose, open growth habit with spreading branches. Its leaf blades are 5 to 30 centimeters long, 5 to 20 millimeters wide, with short soft hairs covering the upper surface that give the plant a slightly rough texture. The tiny spikelets are 2 to 3.5 millimeters long, with a distinctive tapered tip on the lower floret that adds to its delicate appearance.

Habitat: Open places, fields, roadsides

Bloom period: Feb-Dec

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: Alameda, Siskiyou, Kern, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Napa, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Inyo, Lake, San Diego, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Riverside, Butte, Orange, Trinity, Tuolumne, Amador, Mendocino, Ventura, San Bernardino, Madera, Solano, Colusa, Tulare, Glenn, Placer, Shasta, El Dorado, Yolo, Mono, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Yuba, Alpine, Monterey, Tehama, Fresno, Sonoma, Imperial, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sutter, Nevada, Sierra, Mariposa, Del Norte, San Mateo, Merced

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