Phalaris lemmonii
Lemmon's canary grass
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Phalaris lemmonii (Lemmon's canary grass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by interrupted base of inflorescence and seasonal flooding habitat.
Lemmon's canary grass is a California native annual grass found in northern Sierra Nevada Foothill, Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, south Coast Ranges, southern California Coast, western Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and desert mountains in moist areas with occasional flooding, scrub, and woodland at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pale green to white flowers in dense cylindrical clusters 4 to 20 centimeters long and 0.7 to 1.5 centimeters wide. Growing with upright stems 50 to 150 centimeters tall, it has an occasionally branched or lobed grass structure. Its spikelet glumes are lanceolate with acute tips, featuring scabrous veins and densely hairy sterile lemmas. The fertile lemma is lanceolate to ovoid with a slightly beaked tip, measuring 4 to 5 millimeters long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 10 sympatric species; key features are interrupted base of inflorescence and seasonal flooding habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Generally moist areas with occasionally flooding, scrub, woodland
Elevation: < 700 m
California counties: Marin, Contra Costa, Solano, Sacramento, El Dorado, Merced, Sutter, Alameda, Orange, Yolo, San Diego, San Joaquin, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, Butte, Glenn, Tulare, San Benito, Placer, San Luis Obispo, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Colusa, Fresno, Madera, Monterey, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Napa, Calaveras, San Mateo, Kern, San Francisco, Amador
Outside California: introduced in Australia
Bloom period
Phalaris lemmonii blooms Apr-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 lemmonii native to California?
Yes. Phalaris lemmonii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Phalaris lemmonii bloom?
Phalaris lemmonii blooms Apr-Jun.
Where in California does Phalaris lemmonii grow?
Phalaris lemmonii occurs in Marin, Contra Costa, Solano, Sacramento, El Dorado, Merced, Sutter, Alameda and other counties, at elevations of < 700 m.
What plant family does Phalaris lemmonii belong to?
Phalaris lemmonii is in the Poaceae family, genus Phalaris.
What habitat does Phalaris lemmonii grow in?
Phalaris lemmonii grows in Generally moist areas with occasionally flooding, scrub, woodland.
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.