Native Grasses of Ring Mountain

This guide includes all the native grass species known to occur at Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve.

hall's bent grass

Agrostis hallii is a species of grass known by the common name Hall's bentgrass. It is native to the west coast of the United States from far southern Washington to central California, where it grows in the woodlands and forests of the coastal mountain ranges. This is a rhizomatous perennial grass growing up to about a meter tall. It has flat leaves up to 20 centimeters ...more ↓

serpentine reedgrass

Calamagrostis ophitidis, serpentine reedgrass, is a species of bunch grass in the Poaceae family.

tufted hair grass

Deschampsia cespitosa, commonly known as Tufted Hair-grass or Tussock grass is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this Deschampsia grass species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts of South America, Eurasia and Australia.

annual hairgrass

Deschampsia danthonioides is a species of grass known by the common name annual hairgrass. It is native to western North America from the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, through California and the Western United States, to Baja California, and also to southern South America in Chile and Argentina.

Pine bluegrass

Poa secunda (variously known by the common names of Sandberg bluegrass,alkali bluegrass,big bluegrass,Canby's bluegrass,Nevada bluegrass,one-sided bluegrass,Pacific bluegrass,pine blugrass,slender bluegrass,wild bluegrass, and curly bluegrass.) is a widespread species of grass native to North and South ...more ↓

Festuca microstachys

Previously known as Vulpia microstachys. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Colorado and New Mexico to Baja California, where it grows in many types of open habitat, including grasslands. It is dominant on some grasslands of California, and it was probably an abundant native grass before the habitat was altered by invasive non-native grasses. It occurs in ...more ↓

California fescue

Festuca californica is a species of grass known by the common name California fescue. It is native to the US states of California and Oregon where it is a member of many plant communities, including chaparral. This fescue is a clumping bunch grass perennial without rhizomes.

idaho fescue

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 plains grasslands.

red fescue

Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in cool, temperate climates; it prefers shadier areas and is often planted for its shade tolerance. Wild animals browse it, but it has not been important for ...more ↓

june grass

Koeleria macrantha is a species of grass known by the common name prairie Junegrass. In the UK it is known as crested hair-grass. It is native to much of North America, from Alaska to California, from northern Mexico to the Eastern United States. It occurs in a large number of habitat types, especially prairie.

Edited by Sarah Minnick, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)