Poa douglasii

Sand dune blue grass, Sand Dune Blue Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sand dune blue grass is a California native perennial found in southern North Coast, Central Coast, and northern Channel Islands in coastal dune habitats at elevations generally below 100 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces delicate grass-like flowers in narrow, dense clusters 2 to 6 centimeters long. Growing with tufted stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it spreads through long rhizomes or stolons and forms distinctive clumps. Its narrow leaves are 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide, firm and slender, typically folded or tightly rolled with a fine, hairy upper surface. The plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, and features a small ligule 1 to 2 millimeters long that is finely rough-textured.

Habitat: Coastal dunes

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: generally < 100 m

Bioregions: s NCo, CCo, n ChI.

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