Pennisetum clandestinum
Kikuyu grass
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by distinctive mat-forming habit and concealed inflorescence.
Kikuyu grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in coastal California regions including the northern Coast Ranges, Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern California, Channel Islands, and desert areas at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this aggressive grass produces inconspicuous gray-green spikelets 10 to 20 millimeters long with delicate bristles. Growing as a mat-forming grass with spreading stems that can reach 30 to 45 centimeters tall, it spreads extensively through stolons and rhizomes. Its leaves are flat or slightly folded, 1.5 to 15 centimeters long and 1 to 6 millimeters wide, with a distinctive obtuse tip and glabrous to short-hairy upper surface. In disturbed areas, kikuyu grass can quickly form dense, continuous ground cover through its robust vegetative reproduction.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species; distinctive mat-forming habit and concealed inflorescence
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed areas
Elevation: < 100 m
California counties: San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Orange, Shasta, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Marin, Monterey, Placer, San Joaquin, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Imperial, Madera, Mendocino, Napa, Yolo, Solano, Kern
Outside California: Arizona to South America, native to Africa
Bloom period
Pennisetum clandestinum blooms All year.
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 clandestinum native to California?
No. Pennisetum clandestinum is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Pennisetum clandestinum bloom?
Pennisetum clandestinum blooms All year.
Where in California does Pennisetum clandestinum grow?
Pennisetum clandestinum occurs in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Orange, Shasta, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside and other counties, at elevations of < 100 m.
What plant family does Pennisetum clandestinum belong to?
Pennisetum clandestinum is in the Poaceae family, genus Pennisetum.
Is Pennisetum clandestinum invasive in California?
Pennisetum clandestinum 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.