Phalaris angusta
Timothy canary grass
(c) Harry Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Phalaris angusta (Timothy canary grass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by narrow interrupted inflorescence and small size.
Timothy canary grass is a native annual grass found in northern coastal, southern Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, San Francisco Bay, southern coastal, Peninsular, and Mojave Desert regions in wet areas, marshes, sloughs, and chaparral edges at elevations below 1,400 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pale flowers in dense, narrow cylindric clusters 2 to 20 centimeters long, with spikelets often tinged purple. Growing 1 to 1.7 meters tall with upright stems, it forms distinctive clusters with feathery sterile lemmas. Its leaves are narrow and typical of grass species, with spikelets featuring winged keels and prominent midveins. The small fruit is less than 1.5 millimeters long, with lanceolate lemmas sparsely covered in fine hairs.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 10 sympatric species; key features are narrow interrupted inflorescence and small size
Habitat and range
Habitat: Generally wet areas, marshes, sloughs, edge of chaparral
Elevation: < 1400 m
California counties: Solano, Napa, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, Monterey, Modoc, Humboldt, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Marin, Tulare, Fresno, Lake, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Alameda, San Francisco, San Joaquin
Outside California: to southeastern United States, South America
Bloom period
Phalaris angusta blooms May-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Phleum: Phalaris has an ovate to oblong spike-like panicle with keeled, often winged glumes; timothy is a slender cylindric spike with short-awned, stiffly ciliate-keeled glumes.; vs Alopecurus: Phalaris glumes are free and winged and the shiny fertile lemma is flanked by tiny sterile scales; foxtail has glumes joined at the base and a single awned lemma.; vs Anthoxanthum: Both are spike-like, but sweet vernalgrass smells of coumarin and has two awned sterile lemmas; Phalaris is scentless with reduced scale-like sterile florets.; vs Setaria: Phalaris spikes lack bristles entirely; bristlegrass spikelets are each subtended by persistent bristles.; vs Beckmannia: Phalaris spikelets carry prominent winged glumes; sloughgrass has small round, laterally flattened spikelets crowded on one-sided spikes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Phalaris angusta native to California?
Yes. Phalaris angusta is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Phalaris angusta bloom?
Phalaris angusta blooms May-Jun.
Where in California does Phalaris angusta grow?
Phalaris angusta occurs in Solano, Napa, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, Monterey and other counties, at elevations of < 1400 m.
What plant family does Phalaris angusta belong to?
Phalaris angusta is in the Poaceae family, genus Phalaris.
What habitat does Phalaris angusta grow in?
Phalaris angusta grows in Generally wet areas, marshes, sloughs, edge of chaparral.
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.