Phalaris brachystachys
Short-spiked canary grass
(c) Chaym Turak, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Phalaris brachystachys (Short-spiked canary grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by very short, broad inflorescence and low elevation habitat.
Short-spiked canary grass is a naturalized annual found in the Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in disturbed areas, cultivated fields, and roadsides at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this grass produces pale green to white spikelets in compact clusters 1.5 to 5 centimeters long. Growing with upright stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms dense, relatively wide grass clumps. Its leaves are flat and green, typical of grass species, with smooth margins and a characteristic linear shape. The small spikelets feature distinctive glumes 6 to 8 millimeters long with wing-like keels and hairy fertile lemmas.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 10 sympatric species; key features are very short, broad inflorescence and low elevation habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed areas, cultivated fields, roadsides
Elevation: < 500 m
Outside California: native to Mediterranean Europe
Bloom period
Phalaris brachystachys blooms May-Jul.
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 brachystachys native to California?
No. Phalaris brachystachys is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Phalaris brachystachys bloom?
Phalaris brachystachys blooms May-Jul.
What plant family does Phalaris brachystachys belong to?
Phalaris brachystachys is in the Poaceae family, genus Phalaris.
What habitat does Phalaris brachystachys grow in?
Phalaris brachystachys grows in Disturbed areas, cultivated fields, roadsides.
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.