Polypogon australis
Chilean beard grass
(c) Karen (with occasional help from Mike), some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Polypogon australis (Chilean beard grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by sessile spikelets and purple awns.
Chilean beard grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in coastal and central California regions including Northern Coast, Sierra Nevada Foothills, Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California Coast, and Southern California Transverse Ranges in streambank habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from June to October, this grass produces pale green to purple-tinged spikelets with delicate bristle-like awns. Growing with erect stems 10 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms dense tufted clumps with slender, upright growth. Its leaves are characterized by broad blades 3 to 14 centimeters long and 5 to 7 millimeters wide, with truncate ligules 2 to 4 millimeters long. The grass produces distinctive inflorescences 6 to 16.5 centimeters long with lobed or interrupted flower clusters.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 5 sympatric species; key features are sessile spikelets and purple awns
Habitat and range
Habitat: Streambanks
Elevation: < 1000 m
Outside California: Baja California, native to South America
Bloom period
Polypogon australis blooms Jun-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Lagurus: Beard grass has loose fuzzy heads in wet areas; hare's tail has dense white-woolly oval heads in dry areas.; vs Cynosurus: Beard grass has soft fuzzy bristled heads; dogtail has hard one-sided spike-like heads.; vs Hordeum: Beard grass has soft fuzzy heads; barley has stiff, harsh-awned spike-like heads.; vs Setaria: Beard grass spikelets fall intact; foxtail bristles remain on stem after seeds fall.; vs Trifolium: Polypogon is a grass with fuzzy flower spikes; Trifolium is a legume with clover-leaf clusters.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polypogon australis native to California?
No. Polypogon australis is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Polypogon australis bloom?
Polypogon australis blooms Jun-Oct.
What plant family does Polypogon australis belong to?
Polypogon australis is in the Poaceae family, genus Polypogon.
What habitat does Polypogon australis grow in?
Polypogon australis grows in Streambanks.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · 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.