Sporobolus pumilus
Salt-meadow cord grass
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Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Sporobolus pumilus (Salt-meadow cord grass) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by open spreading inflorescence, slender habit.
Salt-meadow cord grass is a naturalized perennial found in coastal areas of the central California coast at elevations below 10 meters in coastal salt marshes. Flowering in November, this grass produces small, delicate spikelets 7 to 12 millimeters long with scabrous glume and lemma keels. Growing in slender clumps with stems 30 to 120 centimeters tall, it spreads through rhizomes 2 to 4 millimeters wide. Its narrow leaf blades are 10 to 50 centimeters long, typically inrolled when fresh, with approximately three ridges per millimeter on the upper surface. The plant's open inflorescence spans 5 to 22 centimeters wide, with spreading branches extending up to 60 degrees from the main stem.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 6 sympatric species; key features are open spreading inflorescence, slender habit
Habitat and range
Habitat: Coastal salt marshes
Elevation: < 10 m
California counties: Contra Costa, Solano
Outside California: native to southeastern United States
Bloom period
Sporobolus pumilus blooms Nov.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
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 pumilus native to California?
No. Sporobolus pumilus is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Sporobolus pumilus bloom?
Sporobolus pumilus blooms Nov.
Where in California does Sporobolus pumilus grow?
Sporobolus pumilus occurs in Contra Costa, Solano, at elevations of < 10 m.
What plant family does Sporobolus pumilus belong to?
Sporobolus pumilus is in the Poaceae family, genus Sporobolus.
Is Sporobolus pumilus invasive in California?
Sporobolus pumilus is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
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.