Pleuropogon refractus

Nodding semaphore grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Nodding semaphore grass is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Klamath Range, and northern coastal Redwood forests in wet meadows and shady banks at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to July, this grass produces delicate pendulous spikelets that reflexively bend at maturity. Growing with upright stems 70 to 150 centimeters tall that often root at lower nodes, it spreads through underground rhizomes. Its leaf blades are relatively wide, measuring 5 to 14 millimeters across, with ligules 2 to 9 millimeters long. The distinctive inflorescences reach 20 to 35 centimeters long, with spikelets 2.5 to 5 centimeters in length that dramatically arch when mature.

Habitat: Wet meadows, shady banks

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR, NCoRO

California counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, Del Norte, Marin

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