Sphenopholis obtusata

Prairie wedge grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Prairie wedge grass is a California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada Foothills, southern Sierra Nevada, northeastern Santa Ana River region, San Bernardo Mountains, and southern-central Peninsular Ranges in wet meadows, streambanks, and pond environments at elevations of 240 to 2,870 meters. Flowering from April to June, this grass produces delicate pale green to light brown spikelets 2 to 5 millimeters long in compact, generally erect inflorescences. Growing with slender stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall, it develops flat leaf blades 5 to 8 centimeters long with glabrous to slightly rough sheaths. Its leaves feature distinctive jagged-tipped ligules 1 to 4 millimeters long, characteristic of this elegant grassland species. The plant occasionally flowers in its first year, with lower spikelets having acute, linear lower glumes and widely obovate upper glumes.

Habitat: Wet meadows, streambanks, ponds

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 240-2870 m

Bioregions: n SNF (Amador Co.), s SNH (Fresno Co.), ne SCo (Santa Ana River), SnBr, s-c PR (Cuyamaca Mtns), SNE

California counties: San Bernardino, Amador, Riverside, Inyo, San Diego, Orange, Mono, Tulare, Fresno, Stanislaus

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