Poa secunda subsp. secunda
One-Sided Blue Grass
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Perennial · Native
Poa secunda subsp. secunda (One-Sided Blue Grass) is a native California perennial in the Poaceae family, recognized by flat withering leaves and evenly short-hairy lemma bases.
Bluegrass is a California native perennial found throughout California's varied landscapes from dry slopes to saline meadows and alpine areas at elevations up to 3,900 meters. Flowering from March to August, this grass produces delicate, pale inflorescences 3 to 15 centimeters long with small spikelets. Growing 15 to 90 centimeters tall with slender, generally flat leaves that are soft and sometimes glaucous, it forms dense clumps with thread-like basal leaves. Its leaf blades are narrow, measuring 0.5 to 3 millimeters wide, with ligules 2 to 10 millimeters long that are acute and smooth or slightly rough. The small spikelets feature lemmas 4 to 5 millimeters long, with bases evenly short-hairy and delicate pale anthers.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 33 sympatric species; key features are flat withering leaves and evenly short-hairy lemma bases
Habitat and range
Habitat: Common. Dry slopes to saline/alkaline meadows to alpine
Elevation: < 3900 m.
California counties: San Diego, San Bernardino, Inyo, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey, Imperial, Riverside, Lassen, Orange, Alameda, San Benito, Kern, Tulare, Tuolumne, Santa Barbara, Mono, Modoc, Fresno, Placer, Colusa, Del Norte, Kings, San Joaquin, Solano, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Mendocino, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Madera, Mariposa, Napa, Nevada, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sonoma, Tehama, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Trinity, Sacramento, San Francisco, Merced, Yolo, Yuba
Outside California: to southern Canada, Baja California; Patagonia, South America.
Bloom period
Poa secunda subsp. secunda blooms Mar-Aug.
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 subsp. secunda native to California?
Yes. Poa secunda subsp. secunda is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Poa secunda subsp. secunda bloom?
Poa secunda subsp. secunda blooms Mar-Aug.
Where in California does Poa secunda subsp. secunda grow?
Poa secunda subsp. secunda occurs in San Diego, San Bernardino, Inyo, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey and other counties, at elevations of < 3900 m..
What plant family does Poa secunda subsp. secunda belong to?
Poa secunda subsp. secunda is in the Poaceae family, genus Poa.
What habitat does Poa secunda subsp. secunda grow in?
Poa secunda subsp. secunda grows in Common. Dry slopes to saline/alkaline meadows to alpine.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-08
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.