Poa secunda
Secund bluegrass, one-sided bluegrass
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Poa secunda (Secund bluegrass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by highly variable species complex.
Secund bluegrass is a native perennial grass found throughout western North American mountain ranges in alpine meadows, grasslands, and open conifer forests. Flowering from May to July, this grass produces small greenish-white spikelets in dense, often one-sided clusters approximately 2 to 25 centimeters long. Growing in densely clustered tufts with slender stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, it forms compact, sometimes mat-like clumps. Its narrow leaf blades are typically 0.5 to 3 millimeters wide, soft to firm, and can be flat or slightly folded. The delicate spikelets have lemmas 3.5 to 6 millimeters long, which are weakly keeled and range from smooth to slightly scabrous.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 47 sympatric species; highly variable species complex
Habitat and range
California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Modoc, Tuolumne, Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Lassen, Mono, Plumas, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Riverside, Solano, Tulare, Amador, Sonoma, Lake, Humboldt, Napa, Trinity, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Calaveras, Siskiyou, Alpine, Ventura, Alameda, Marin, Shasta, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Del Norte, San Benito, Santa Clara, Imperial, Orange, Nevada, Madera, Butte, Sutter, Mendocino, San Mateo, Placer, Sierra, San Joaquin, Tehama, Glenn, Sacramento, Merced, Colusa, Yolo, Kings
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 secunda native to California?
Yes. Poa secunda is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Poa secunda grow?
Poa secunda occurs in San Bernardino, Kern, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Modoc, Tuolumne, Contra Costa and other counties.
What plant family does Poa secunda belong to?
Poa secunda 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.