Sporobolus cryptandrus
Sand dropseed
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Sporobolus cryptandrus (Sand dropseed) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by variable inflorescence exposure, pyramid shape at maturity.
Sand dropseed is a native perennial grass found in the Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, eastern Sierra Nevada, Desert, and naturalized in other California regions in rocky to sandy washes, scrub, and woodland at elevations of 350 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from April to October, this grass produces green to purple spikelets 1.5 to 3 millimeters long with delicate, narrow clusters. Growing in dense tufts with erect stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clumps with green to brown leaf bases. Its leaves are narrow, 5 to 25 centimeters long and 1 to 6 millimeters wide, with a distinctive collar featuring conspicuous hairs up to 4 millimeters long. The fruit is a small ellipsoid seed 0.7 to 1 millimeter long, light to red-brown in color.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 11 sympatric species; key features are variable inflorescence exposure, pyramid shape at maturity
Habitat and range
Habitat: Rocky to sandy washes, slopes, scrub, woodland
Elevation: 350-2800 m
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Sacramento, Nevada, Alameda, Butte, Santa Barbara, Solano, Tehama, Colusa, Siskiyou, San Joaquin, Yolo, El Dorado, Placer, Monterey
Outside California: widespread southern Canada, United States (except Florida), northern Mexico, Argentina
Bloom period
Sporobolus cryptandrus blooms Apr-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Typha: Typha (cattails) has thick, sausage-like brown flower spikes and wide strap-like leaves, not grass flowers.; vs Distichlis: Distichlis forms stiff colonies in salt marshes with distinctly two-ranked leaves, lacking ciliate sheaths.; vs Muhlenbergia: Sporobolus has fringed hairs on leaf sheath margins; Muhlenbergia sheaths are smooth.; vs Leymus: Leymus has spike-like inflorescences with spikelets in pairs, not the open panicles of Sporobolus.; vs Oloptum: Oloptum has prominent bent awns and plumose hairs; Sporobolus is awnless with ciliate sheaths.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sporobolus cryptandrus native to California?
Yes. Sporobolus cryptandrus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Sporobolus cryptandrus bloom?
Sporobolus cryptandrus blooms Apr-Oct.
Where in California does Sporobolus cryptandrus grow?
Sporobolus cryptandrus occurs in San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Kern and other counties, at elevations of 350-2800 m.
What plant family does Sporobolus cryptandrus belong to?
Sporobolus cryptandrus is in the Poaceae family, genus Sporobolus.
What habitat does Sporobolus cryptandrus grow in?
Sporobolus cryptandrus grows in Rocky to sandy washes, slopes, scrub, woodland.
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.