Sporobolus vaginiflorus
Poverty dropseed
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Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Sporobolus vaginiflorus (Poverty dropseed) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by hairy lemma, large anthers, annual habit.
Poverty dropseed is a naturalized annual grass found in eastern Klamath Ranges of northwestern Shasta County and northern Sierra Nevada near Grass Valley and Truckee Canyon in open, sandy disturbed areas at elevations below 600 meters. Flowering from April to November, this grass produces green to lead-colored spikelets 3 to 6 millimeters long in dense, contracted inflorescences. Growing in tufted clusters with erect or decumbent stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall, it has stems with dull purple to straw-colored bases. Its narrow leaves are 2 to 15 centimeters long and 0.5 to 2 millimeters wide, with glabrous or slightly ciliate margins. The light-brown fruit is obovoid and 1.8 to 2.7 millimeters long, with fine striations.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species; key features are hairy lemma, large anthers, annual habit
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open, generally sandy, disturbed areas
Elevation: < 600 m
Outside California: native to southeastern Canada, central and eastern United States, northeastern Mexico, naturalized in Idaho, Arizona
Bloom period
Sporobolus vaginiflorus blooms Apr-Nov.
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 vaginiflorus native to California?
No. Sporobolus vaginiflorus is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Sporobolus vaginiflorus bloom?
Sporobolus vaginiflorus blooms Apr-Nov.
What plant family does Sporobolus vaginiflorus belong to?
Sporobolus vaginiflorus is in the Poaceae family, genus Sporobolus.
What habitat does Sporobolus vaginiflorus grow in?
Sporobolus vaginiflorus grows in Open, generally sandy, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Sporobolus wrightii — Big sacaton
- Sporobolus airoides — Alkali sacaton
- Sporobolus alopecuroides — Foxtail prickle grass
- Sporobolus alterniflorus — Salt-water cord grass
- Sporobolus contractus — Spike dropseed
- Sporobolus creber — Slender rat's-tail grass
- Stenotaphrum secundatum — Saint augustine grass
- Stenotaphrum sp.
- Stipa arida — Mormon needle grass
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.