Pennisetum ciliare

Buffel grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

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.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: < 110 m

Bioregions: SCo, PR, DSon

California counties: Imperial, San Bernardino, Orange

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