Stipa comata var. comata

Needle & thread grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Needle and thread grass is a native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin, and Desert Mountains in grassland and sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,500 to 3,100 meters. Flowering from May to July, this grass produces delicate pale flowers with distinctive long, twisted awns that can reach 22 centimeters. Growing with slender stems 30 to 80 centimeters tall, it forms loose tufts with nodes largely concealed by leaf sheaths. Its leaves are narrow and fine, typical of bunch grasses, with a characteristic feather-like awn that gives the plant its evocative common name. The grass's seed heads feature extraordinarily long, spiraling awns that curl and twist as they mature, creating a delicate, thread-like appearance across grassland landscapes.

Habitat: Grassland, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1500-3100 m

Bioregions: SN, TR, PR, GB, DMtns

California counties: Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, Lassen, San Diego

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