Sporobolus flexuosus
Mesa dropseed
no rights reserved · CC0
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Sporobolus flexuosus (Mesa dropseed) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by nodding axis, entangled spreading branches.
Mesa dropseed is a native perennial grass found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and desert bioregions in rocky to sandy washes, slopes, scrub, and woodland at elevations of 100 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from May to October, this grass produces green to purple spikelets in open, spreading inflorescences with nodding central axes. Growing in tufted clumps with erect or decumbent stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive grass clusters with conspicuous collar hairs. Its grass blades are narrow, 5 to 25 centimeters long and 1 to 6 millimeters wide, with margins that are glabrous or finely ciliate. The small fruits are ellipsoid, light to red-brown, and less than one millimeter long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; key features are nodding axis, entangled spreading branches
Habitat and range
Habitat: Rocky to sandy washes, slopes, scrub, woodland
Elevation: 100-2100 m
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Kern, San Benito, Sutter
Outside California: to Nevada, Colorado, Oklahoma, western Texas, northern Mexico
Bloom period
Sporobolus flexuosus blooms May-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 flexuosus native to California?
Yes. Sporobolus flexuosus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Sporobolus flexuosus bloom?
Sporobolus flexuosus blooms May-Oct.
Where in California does Sporobolus flexuosus grow?
Sporobolus flexuosus occurs in San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Kern, San Benito, Sutter, at elevations of 100-2100 m.
What plant family does Sporobolus flexuosus belong to?
Sporobolus flexuosus is in the Poaceae family, genus Sporobolus.
What habitat does Sporobolus flexuosus grow in?
Sporobolus flexuosus 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.