Stenotaphrum secundatum

Saint augustine grass, Saint Augustine Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Saint augustine grass is a naturalized perennial grass found in coastal California regions including central and southern coastal areas in fields and roadsides at elevations below 150 meters. Flowering from July to September, this grass produces pale green to greenish-white flower spikes in compact clusters. Growing with distinctively prostrate stems that spread through long runners, it forms dense ground-covering mats 1 to 4 decimeters tall with broad, flat leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long. Its leaves are smooth, bright green, and 5 to 15 millimeters wide, emerging from short, glabrous leaf sheaths. The grass spreads extensively through long stolons, creating thick, carpet-like vegetation in disturbed and open areas.

Habitat: Fields, roadsides

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: < 150 m

Bioregions: CCo, SCo

California counties: Orange, Marin, Ventura, San Bernardino, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Kern, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Merced, Solano, Monterey

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