Poa cusickii
Cusick's bluegrass
(c) Trevor Van Loon, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Poa cusickii (Cusick's bluegrass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family.
Cusick's bluegrass is a native perennial grass found in alpine and subalpine meadows at high elevations. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces delicate, compact grass flower clusters in a lanceolate to ovate inflorescence. Growing in dense tufted clumps 10 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms tight clusters with slender, ascending stems. Its leaf blades are narrow, generally 0.5 to 1 millimeter wide, firm and often tightly inrolled, with fine hairs on the upper surface. The plant exhibits a distinctive semi-dioecious characteristic, with small fertile anthers 2 to 3.5 millimeters long.
Habitat and range
California counties: Fresno, Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, Alpine, Mono, Trinity, El Dorado, Amador, Nevada, Tuolumne, Tulare, Sierra, Inyo
How to tell it apart
vs Festuca: Poa has boat-shaped, keeled leaf tips; Festuca leaves are flat or rolled but never keeled like a ship's prow.; vs Melica: Poa has fine, narrow leaves with boat-shaped tips; Melica has wider, flat leaves without the distinctive keel.; vs Nassella: Poa leaves have boat-shaped tips you can feel; Nassella leaves roll inward and lack the keel.; vs Koeleria: Poa has cobwebby hairs at seed base and keeled leaf tips; Koeleria lacks both features.; vs Holcus: Poa has boat-shaped leaf tips; Holcus leaves are flat and soft-hairy without any keel.
Frequently asked questions
Is Poa cusickii native to California?
Yes. Poa cusickii is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Poa cusickii grow?
Poa cusickii occurs in Fresno, Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, Alpine, Mono, Trinity, El Dorado and other counties.
What plant family does Poa cusickii belong to?
Poa cusickii is in the Poaceae family, genus Poa.
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.