Phalaris caroliniana

Carolina canary grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Carolina canary grass is a naturalized annual grass found in northern coastal California, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, central and southern coastal areas, and southwestern California in open fields, sandy soils, and moist meadows at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from April to May, this grass produces dense, ovoid to subcylindric flower clusters 5 to 8 centimeters long with pale green to white spikelets. Growing with upright stems 50 to 150 centimeters tall, it forms robust, branching clumps in disturbed or open landscapes. Its leaves are flat and relatively broad, with smooth green blades typical of grass species. The delicate spikelets feature feathery sterile lemmas that give the inflorescence a soft, intricate appearance.

Habitat: Uncommon. Open fields, sandy soils, moist meadows

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n SNF, GV, CCo, SCoRO, SW

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