Stipa speciosa

Desert needle grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Desert needle grass is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, San Joaquin Valley, southern Coast Ranges, southwestern California, Great Basin, and Desert regions on rocky slopes, canyons, and washes at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces pale green to straw-colored flowers in dense 10 to 15 centimeter inflorescences with distinctive long, bent awns. Growing with stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it features narrow leaf blades 10 to 30 centimeters long and less than 2 millimeters wide. Its leaves have tightly inrolled margins and mostly glabrous sheaths, with the plant characterized by its remarkably long, feather-like awns that are 35 to 45 millimeters long and densely hairy at the base. The fruit features a sharp callus and densely hairy lemma, making it a distinctive grass of arid landscapes.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, canyons, washes

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: s SN, Teh, SnJV, SCoR, SW, GB, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Inyo, Mono, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Fresno, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Plumas, Kings, Monterey

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