''Danthonia californica'' is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Description

''Danthonia californica'' is a clumping erect perennial

bunch grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...

with stems approaching a meter (3 feet) in height at maximum. The leaves are flat and short and may be hairy or hairless. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

holds one or more

spikelets A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

, each spikelet holding up to eight florets. This grass grows best in moist areas, generally in thin forests and meadows. Typical native grass associates in the far western North American coastal prairies are ''

Festuca idahoensis ''Festuca idahoensis'' is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plai ...

'', '' Deschampsia caespitosa'', and ''

Nassella pulchra ''Nassella pulchra'', basionym ''Stipa pulchra'', is a species of grass known by the common names purple needlegrass and purple tussockgrass. It is native to the U.S. state of California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, an ...

''.C. Michael Hogan. 2009

References

Notes

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
"Purple Needlegrass (''Nassella pulchra'')" Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* ''Jepson Manual''. 1993
''Jepson Manual Treatment: Danthonia californica''

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Danthonia californica'' (California oatgrass) Calflora Database: ''Danthonia californica'' (California oatgrass)Jepson Manual treatment of ''Danthonia californica''Grass Manual Treatment''Danthonia californica'' — UC Photos gallery
californica Bunchgrasses of North America Native grasses of California Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Flora of the Western United States Flora of Chile Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Poaceae-stub

Description

See also

References

Notes

External links