Poa thomasii

California dissanthelium

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

California dissanthelium is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual grass found on the southern Channel Islands, specifically Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands, in coastal sage scrub at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate grass produces small, subtle flowers in loosely contracted inflorescences with slender, scabrous branches. Growing in slender tufts up to 25 centimeters tall, it forms sometimes solitary clusters with soft, flat leaf blades 2.5 to 15 centimeters long and 1 to 4 millimeters wide. Its leaves have open sheaths and slender green blades, with spikelets featuring thin glumes that exceed the lower florets and are slightly hairy. The uppermost florets within the spikelets may be pistillate, with tiny anthers less than 1 millimeter long.

Habitat: Coastal sage scrub

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: s ChI (Santa Catalina, San Clemente islands)

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