Pennisetum ciliare
Buffel grass
(c) Oscar Alejandro Morales Juárez, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Pennisetum ciliare (Buffel grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by fused bristles and compact panicle.
Buffel grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in southern coastal California, the Peninsular Ranges, and the Desert of Sonora in disturbed areas at elevations below 110 meters. Flowering from April to October, this grass produces green to gray spikelets in panicle-like clusters with distinctive bristles up to 12 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 10 to 150 centimeters tall, it emerges from a knotty base with short rhizomes. Its leaves are 3 to 25 centimeters long, 2.5 to 13 millimeters wide, with smooth or slightly hairy surfaces in green or bluish-green colors. The plant features complex spikelet structures with outer and inner bristles, making it a particularly adaptable and aggressive non-native grass species.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species; key features are fused bristles and compact panicle
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed areas
Elevation: < 110 m
California counties: Imperial, San Bernardino, Orange
Outside California: to Texas, northern Mexico, native to Africa, western Asia, India
Bloom period
Pennisetum ciliare blooms Apr-Oct.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
How to tell it apart
vs Setaria: In Pennisetum the bristles beneath each spikelet fall attached to the spikelet as one unit; in bristlegrass the bristles stay behind on the axis when the seed drops.; vs Cenchrus: Pennisetum bristles are free and plumose, giving a soft fountain-like brush; Cenchrus bristles fuse into a hard spiny burr that clings to fur and clothing.; vs Polypogon: Pennisetum spikes bear fascicles of naked bristles subtending the spikelets; rabbitsfoot grass has soft awned glumes rather than bristle clusters.; vs Phleum: Pennisetum has a bristly, often colorful brush-like spike; timothy is a dense cylindric spike of awn-tipped glumes with no bristle fascicles.; vs Alopecurus: Pennisetum spikelets sit in bristly clusters that shed as a unit; foxtail has soft single spikelets with glumes joined at the base.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pennisetum ciliare native to California?
No. Pennisetum ciliare is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Pennisetum ciliare bloom?
Pennisetum ciliare blooms Apr-Oct.
Where in California does Pennisetum ciliare grow?
Pennisetum ciliare occurs in Imperial, San Bernardino, Orange, at elevations of < 110 m.
What plant family does Pennisetum ciliare belong to?
Pennisetum ciliare is in the Poaceae family, genus Pennisetum.
Is Pennisetum ciliare invasive in California?
Pennisetum ciliare is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.