Phalaris aquatica

Harding grass, Harding Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Harding grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern coastal ranges, southern California, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Mojave Desert in disturbed areas and roadsides at elevations below 1,700 meters. Flowering from April to August, this grass produces pale green to white flowers in dense, cylindrical clusters 1.5 to 15 centimeters long. Growing in dense, rhizomatous clumps with stems 40 to 200 centimeters tall and swollen at the base, it forms robust, spreading clusters. Its leaves are long and flat, typical of grass species, with characteristic broad blades emerging from the dense, clustered base. The plant occasionally produces bulblets, adding to its ability to spread and colonize disturbed landscapes.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: < 1700 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&amps SNH, ScV, SnFrB, SCoRO, SCo, WTR, PR, DMoj

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Mendocino, Humboldt, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Orange, Riverside, San Mateo, San Diego, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Marin, Napa, Tuolumne, Sonoma, Colusa, Nevada, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Lake, Solano, Sutter, Tulare, Alameda, Kern, Monterey, Imperial, Trinity, Butte, Yuba, Glenn, Tehama, Sacramento, Shasta, Yolo, Amador, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Placer

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