''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 law ...
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 state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
to
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
, 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 eas ...
.
Description
''Danthonia californica'' is a clumping erect perennial
bunch grass 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 ...
holds one or more
spikelets, 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'', ''
Deschampsia caespitosa
''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts o ...
'', and ''
Nassella pulchra''.
[C. Michael Hogan. 2009]
See also
*
California coastal prairie
*
Native grasses of California
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