Gramineae [HC]
102 genera
318 species
103 subspecies and varieties
Show only taxa with photos
Scientific name
Common name
Index to genera:
Achnatherum,
Aegilops,
Agropogon,
Agropyron,
Agrostis,
Aira,
Alopecurus,
Ammophila,
Anthoxanthum,
Apera,
Aristida,
Arrhenatherum,
Avena,
Beckmannia,
Brachypodium,
Briza,
Bromus,
Calamagrostis,
Calamovilfa,
Cenchrus,
Cinna,
Coix,
Coleanthus,
Cortaderia,
Corynephorus,
Crypsis,
Cynodon,
Cynosurus,
Dactylis,
Danthonia,
Deschampsia,
Dichanthelium,
Digitaria,
Diplachne,
Distichlis,
Echinochloa,
Eleusine,
Elyhordeum,
Elyleymus,
Elymus,
Eragrostis,
Eremopyrum,
Festuca,
Glyceria,
Graphephorum,
Hesperostipa,
Hierochloe,
Holcus,
Hordeum,
Koeleria,
Leersia,
Leymus,
Lolium,
Melica,
Miscanthus,
Molinia,
Muhlenbergia,
Nassella,
Oryzopsis,
Panicum,
Parapholis,
Pascopyrum,
Paspalum,
Pennisetum,
Phalaris,
Phleum,
Phragmites,
Piptatheropsis,
Pleuropogon,
Poa,
Podagrostis,
Polypogon,
Psathyrostachys,
Pseudelymus,
Pseudoroegneria,
Pseudosasa,
Puccinellia,
Redfieldia,
Sasa,
Schedonorus,
Schizachyrium,
Sclerochloa,
Scleropoa,
Scribneria,
Secale,
Setaria,
Sorghum,
Spartina,
Sphenopholis,
Sporobolus,
Taeniatherum,
Thinopyrum,
Torreyochloa,
Tripidium,
Triplasis,
Trisetum,
Triticum,
Vahlodea,
Ventenata,
Vulpia,
Zea,
Zizania
– Henderson's needlegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Douglas, Kittitas, and Yakima counties; central Washington to Jefferson County, Oregon.
Habitat: Dry, rocky, shallow soil, in sagebrush desert or ponderosa pine forest openings.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Indian ricegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains.
Habitat: Grasslands, desert plains, and foothills, especially on rocky or sandy soil.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Lemmon's needlegrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Grassy balds, prairies, sagebrush grasslands, and ponderosa pine forest, from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Nelson's needlegrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Yukon Territory to California, east to the northern Great Plains and Colorado.
Habitat: Moist to mesic, montane to subalpine meadows and open forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Nelson's needlegrass
– Nelson's needlegrass
–
common western needlegrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Grassland, sagebrush desert, and coniferous forests from low to middle elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– California needlegrass
– western needlegrass
– Richardson's ricegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to northeastern Oregon, east to the Canadian Great Plains and south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado.
Habitat: Sandy and gravelly sites in grassland, open forest, and sagebrush grassland.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Thurber's ricegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; south-central British Columbia to California, east to Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Habitat: Sagebrush grassland and ponderosa pine forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– jointed goatgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across most of the United States to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Waste ground and roadsides; a troublesome weed in wheat.
Origin: Introduced from southern Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– crested wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Dry, open areas where distiurbed; frequently planted for soil stabilization and forage.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Siberian wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; south-central British Columbia to southeastern Idaho.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– colonial bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Open, disturbed areas often at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Highland bentgrass, dryland browntop
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in lowland western Washington: southwestern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Disturbed sites, roadsides, and gravel bars.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– California bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in western Washington along the outer coast; coastal Washington to California.
Habitat: Coastal bluffs.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– spiked bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Alberta, Nebraska and Texas.
Habitat: Moist areas, from near sea level to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– black bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed sites, roadsides, edge of agricultural fields, mostly at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Idaho bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Subalpine and alpine meadows, along wet seepage areas, bogs, and wet openings in coniferous forests.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Merten's bentgrass, northern bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring in the Cascades Range in Washington; Alaska to northern Washington; circumboreal.
Habitat: Rocky alpine meadows and ridgelines.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– small-leaf bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Seasonally wet areas on thin, rocky or sandy substrates, vernal pools, cliffs, and serpentine areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– Oregon bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada.
Habitat: Stream and lake margins, damp woodlands and meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– seashore bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to western Montana and Utah.
Habitat: Coastal sands and cliffs, meadows, open, dry lowlands to subalpine forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– rough bentgrass
Distribution: Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed sites in grassl, open forest, marshes, and lakesides, often
along roads and ditches.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– spreading bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Wet, disturbed areas that include streambanks, flooded fields, and ditches at low to moderate elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– alpine bentgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Wet subalpine and alpine seeps and meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
silver hairgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington and east in the Columbia River Gorge; British Columbia to California, east to Idaho and Wyoming, also in the southeastern U.S. and northeastern North America.
Habitat: Balds, prairies, meadows, forest openings, roadsides, wastelots, and other open areas at low to middle elevations.
Origin: Introduced Eurasia and North Africa
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– silver hairgrass
– early silver hairgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California; also in eastern North America.
Habitat: Gravelly prairies, sea bluffs and dunes near the coast, also in other disturbed, open areas at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-September
Growth Duration: Annual
–
little foxtail, short-awn foxtail
Distribution: Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Shores, riverbanks, vernal pools, sloughs, wet meadows, and seeps, often submersed.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– creeping meadow-foxtail
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central British Columbia to Washington, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains; also in scattered locations in eastern North America.
Habitat: Alkaline meadows and shores, ditches, shores.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– tufted meadow-foxtail
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Shores, wet meadows, vernal pools, ditches.
Origin: Introduced from central North America?
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– water foxtail
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Atlantic Coast in Canada.
Habitat: Wet places, often in standing water.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– slender meadow-foxtail
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California, also in the southern and eastern U.S. and Canadian Great Plains.
Habitat: Margins of cultivated fields, damp roadsides, and vernal pools.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– field meadow-foxtail
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Swampy areas in meadows, in irrigated fields, and along roadsides.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Pacific meadow-foxtail
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; Washington and southwestern Oregon to California.
Habitat: Lowland vernal pools, shores, wet scabland, meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
–
European beachgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington along the marine coast; western British Columbia to California, also in scattered locations along coast of northeastern North America.
Habitat: Sandy beaches and dunes along the coast.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– European beachgrass
–
American beachgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington along the marine coast; western British Columbia to California; native from Great Lakes region east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Sandy beaches and dunes along the coast.
Origin: Introduced eastern North America
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– American beachgrass
–
annual vernalgrass
Distribution: Occurring in scattered locations on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California; occurring throughout most of central and eastern half of North America.
Habitat: Meadows, grasslands, forest openings, and other disturbed, open areas at low to moderate elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– small sweet vernal grass
– sweet vernalgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, southern Great Plains, and eastern North America.
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, meadows, prairies, balds, lawns, and other disturbed open areas at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– dense silky-bent
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in the central U.S., Great Lakes region, and northeastern U.S.
Habitat: Dry wasteland and other disturbed areas in shrub-steppe and open coniferous forests.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
–
threeawn
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to central Canada and the central U.S.
Habitat: Desert plains, grasslands, and pondersoa pine forests.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– red threeawn
– bulbous oatgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Meadows, balds, pastures, fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– barbed oats
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced Eurasian
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– wild oats
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: May-September
Growth Duration: Annual
– cultivated oats
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from the Mediterranean region
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– American sloughgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Pond margins, marshes and ditches at low elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual
–
false brome
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in lowland western Washington; British Columbia to California; also in Virginia.
Habitat: Roadsides, forest edge, and other disturbed areas at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced Eurasia and North Africa
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– false brome
– big quakinggrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California; also in the southwestern U.S. and northeastern North America.
Habitat: Dry to moist roadsides, wastelots, meadows, and other disturbed, open areas.
Origin: Introduced Europe
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– Australian brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to Californai, east to Nevada and Arizona.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– rattlesnake brome
Distribution: Southern British Columbia south to California, east to Idaho and Montana; occasional in eastern United States.
Habitat: Waste ground, roadsides, and overgrazed areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: Late May - July
Growth Duration: Annual
– fringed brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Damp meadows, thickets, woodlands, and stream banks.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– meadow brome
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Waste ground, meadows, and roadsides.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– great brome, ripgut brome, ripgut grass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, southern Great Plains, and in eastern North America.
Habitat: Grassy balds, prairies, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed open areas at low to moderate elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– soft chess
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Baja California, east to Idaho and Montana.
Habitat: Prairies, bluffs, grasslands, waste ground, roadsides, dry hillsides, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– smooth brome
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, ditches, meadows, parks, and other disturbed open areas; often planted for hay and soil stabilization.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Japanese brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert and grasslands to lower mountain forests; often a weed of roadsides and waste land.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– Chinook brome
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern Washington to California, east to Nevada and Arizona.
Habitat: Dry hillsides, rocky slopes, montane meadows, and open coniferous forests.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Pacific brome
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon.
Habitat: Meadows and forest openingsat low elevations, often near or along the coast.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
arctic brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, east across Canada to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Stream banks, lake shores, sand dunes, meadows, grassy slopes, and roadsides
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– arctic brome
– bald brome
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed, open areas.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– fox-tail brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in south-central Washington; south-central Washington to California, east to Idaho, Utah and Arizona.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas including overgrazed lands.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– rye brome
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic coast.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed, open ground.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual
–
Alaska brome, Sitka brome
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Great Plains
Habitat: Dry to moist open areas from lowlands to subalpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Aleut brome
– California brome
– large mountain brome
– smooth brome
– Sitka brome
– corn brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east in scattered locations to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Open, disturbed areas including fields, meadows, and forest openings.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– poverty brome
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Southern British Columbia to California, east to Idaho, the southern Rocky Mountains, and Texas; also in eastern North America.
Habitat: Fields, grassy balds, roadside, wastelots, and other disturbed places.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– Suksdorf's brome
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southern Washington; southern Washington to California.
Habitat: Open subalpine forest and slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– soft brome, cheatgrass, cheat grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Baja California, Mexico, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert, grasslands, prairies, meadows, balds, roadsides, wastelots, and other distrubed open areas from low to middle elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: March-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– Columbian brome
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia south along the coast to northern California, east to Alberta, Montana and Wyoming.
Habitat: Shaded to open woods or moist to dry banks, from near sea level to mountain meadows and dry, rocky slopes at 6000' elevation.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
bluejoint reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and eastern North America.
Habitat: Wet places, sea level to mid-elevations in the mountains
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bluejoint reedgrass
– Langsdorff's jointed reedgrass
– Howell's reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; south-central Washington to adjacent Oregon.
Habitat: Rocky banks and crevices.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Nootka reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington along the coast; Alaska to California.
Habitat: In coastal areas in wetlands, forest openings, salt- and freshwater beaches and dunes, and cliffs.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– purple reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, and east across the northern Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Moist subalpine meadows and stream banks, often in partial shade.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pinegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Alberta, Montana and Colorado
Habitat: Dry to moist areas, open sagebrush flats to timbered slopes, moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
slimstem reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Wetlands.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– narrow-spiked reedgrass
– narrow-spiked reedgrass
– Rainier reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring in the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Range in Washington. Washington to northern Oregon.
Habitat: Montane to alpine meadows, seeps, and rocky slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Cascade reedgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in central Washington; central Washington to southern Oregon, east to Idaho and Montana.
Habitat: Moist meadows and subalpine slopes, usually in forest edge or understory.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
prairie sandreed
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southeastern British Columbia to eastern Washington, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, and eastern North America.
Habitat: Prairies and foothills, where escaped from soil stabilization plantings.
Origin: Introduced from central and eastern North America
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– prairie sandgrass, prairie sandreed
– longspine sandbur, mat sandbur
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Mexico, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Sandy river banks and other disturbed, seasonally moist areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Annual
– slender wood-reed
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, and eastern North America.
Habitat: Moist woods and meadows, sea level to subalpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– moss grass
Distribution: Occurring in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southern British Columbia, Columbia River Gorge, and Lower Columbia River, also in southwestern Oregon.
Habitat: Lake margins and sand bars.
Origin: Native?
Flowers: July-October
Growth Duration: Annual
– purple pampas grass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California.
Habitat: Disturbed, open areas at low elevation.
Origin: Introduced from northern South America
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pampas grass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, in scattered states eastward to Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed, open soil of wastelots, abandoned fields, and roadsides at low elevations, often near coast.
Origin: Introduced from central South America
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– gray hairgrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to northwestern Washington.
Habitat: Moist disturbed, open areas at low elevations.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– foxtail pricklegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, and in eastern North America.
Habitat: Sandy soils around drying lake margins and other seasonally moist, disturbed, open areas.
Origin: Introduced from n. Africa and Eurasia
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– modest pricklegrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington in the Grant County area; Washington to California, east to Idaho and Nevada.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, rocky parking areas, wastelots, and other disturbed sites.
Origin: Introduced from the western Mediterranean
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Annual
– bermuda grass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, southern Great Plains and eastern North America.
Habitat: A weed of lawns, pastures, roadsides, railroad tracks, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– crested dogtail
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, also in Idaho, Montana, and Colorado.
Habitat: Waste places, old meadows, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bristly dog's-tail grass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed open areas, including roadsides, grasslands, and wastelots.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– orchard grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed areas such as meadows, fields, roadsides, and forest edges; common forage plant; also planted in logged areas in the mountains.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia and northern Africa
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– California oatgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Open, grassy meadows to rocky ridges, from coastal prairies to mid-elevations in the mountains, often with ponderosa pine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common heath-grass, mountain heath-grass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in southwestern Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California; also in northeastern Canada.
Habitat: Marshy margins, dunes, dry meadows, damp, disturbed
ground.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– timber oatgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and eastern Canada; also in eastern Russia.
Habitat: Dry, mesic or wet meadows, peatlands, rocky slopes, and talus, from the lowlands to alpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– poverty oatgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Newfoundland and eastern United States.
Habitat: Sandy to rocky soil in dry woods and fairly dry meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– few-flower oatgrass, one-spike oatgrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the northern Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Dry to occasionally moist prairies, foothills, and open parks and ridges in mountain forests.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– tufted hairgrass
Distribution: Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the northern Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and eastern North America.
Habitat: From coastal marshes and moist prairies to alpine ridges, talus slopes, mountain meadows, and moist areas in the mountains in general.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– annual hair-grass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the the Rocky Mountains; apparently introduced in Alaska, Yukon Territory, Arizona, New Mexico, and the eastern U.S.; disjunct in Chile and Argentina.
Habitat: Mesic to damp open slopes, ledges, vernal pools, scablands, stream banks, and roadsides.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– slender hair-grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Moist sandy or gravelly banks and slopes, and borders of streams and lakes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
hairy perennial panicgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Rocky or sandy river banks or lake margins to open woods, marshy areas or dry prairies, from sea level to high elevation in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– hairy panicgrass
–
Scribner's perennial panicgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia south on both sides of the Cascades to northern California, east to Idaho, Montana and Utah, also in eastern North America.
Habitat: Dry prairies or rocky areas to sandy stream banks.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Scribner's panicgrass witchgrass
– smooth crabgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Lawns, roadsides and wastland, usually where moist.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Annual
– hairy crabgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Lawns, gardens, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: July-October
Growth Duration: Annual
–
clustered salt-grassprangletop, loose-flowered sprangletop
Distribution: Occurring in a few scattered locations chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout North America.
Habitat: Disturbed areas at low elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: August-September
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– bearded sprangletop
– alkaline grass, coastal salt grass
Distribution: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south to California; also along the east coast of the United States from Canada to Florida and Texas.
Habitat: Coastal beaches, salt marshes, and inland areas where alkaline.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– barnyard grass, large barnyard grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, meadows, wastelots, and other disturbed areas, often where moist or wet.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-October
Growth Duration: Annual
–
American barnyard-grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Shores, swales, riparian zones, moist, disturbed ground, and roadsides.
Origin: Native?
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Annual
– American barnyard grass, American watergrass
– Montana wild rye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Washington, east to the northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Shallow, rocky soils on wooded or sagebrush-covered slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Canadian wild rye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Quebec, North Carolina and Texas
Habitat: Streambanks and thickets on sandy, dry to moist soil, and in disturbed areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Canadian wild rye, nodding wild rye
– beardless wild rye, awnless wildrye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in northeastern Washington; southeastern British Columbia to northeastern Washington, east to the northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Moist soils of open forest, thickets, grasslands, ditches, and disturbed ground, especially on bottomland.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
bottlebrush, squirreltail
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to southern California, east to the Great Plains and eastern North America.
Habitat: Dry and rocky to moist habitats, from along the coast to inland desert plains and prairies, and to the alpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– longleaf squirreltail
– bottlebrush squirreltail, California squirreltail
– bottlebrush, squirreltail
–
blue wild-rye
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Great Plains and Great Lakes region.
Habitat: Prairies, open woods, and dry to moist hillsides, from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– blue wildrye
– blue wildrye
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– boreal wildrye, Northwest wildrye
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to Alberta and Idaho.
Habitat: Forests, thickets, and grasslands.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
thick-spiked wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Great Lakes region.
Habitat: Sand and clay soils, dry to mesic grasslands, and sagebrush.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– thick-spiked wheatgrass
– sand-dune wheatgrass
– stream bank wheatgrass
– big squirreltail
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central Washington to California, east to Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.
Habitat: Dry, often rocky, open woodland and thickets on slopes and plains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– false quackgrass
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– creeping wildrye
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast; circumboreal.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, meadows, pastures, wastelots, and other disturbed open areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Scribner's wildrye
Distribution: Occurring in the Cascades Range in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Open, rocky, often windswept subalpine and alpine regions.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
slender wheatgrass
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bearded wheatgrass
– arctic wheatgrass, bearded wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, east across Canada to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: High montane to alpine rocks and grassland.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– wawawai wildrye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southeastern Washington to eastern Oregon and western Idaho.
Habitat: Shallow, rocky soils.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– stinkgrass
Distribution: Central Washington south ot California, east to Maine.
Habitat: Disturbed areas and waste land, and along streams and pond margins.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June - October
Growth Duration: Annual
– weeping lovegrass
Distribution: In scattered locations across Washington; occurring from West to East Coast of U.S., typically in the southern half of the country.
Habitat: Distrubed areas where open and forest edge.
Origin: Introduced from southern Africa
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– teal love grass
Distribution: In Washington, chiefly west of the Cascades, and along the Columbia and Snake Rivers; widespread in central and eastern United States.
Habitat: Mud flats along streams, ponds and lakes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Annual
– six-weeks love grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - October
Growth Duration: Annual
–
Mexican lovegrass
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– Mexican lovegrass, orcutt's lovegrass
– little lovegrass
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Growth Duration: Annual
–
tufted lovegrass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– purple eragrostis, tufted eragrostis
–
India lovegrass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: October
Growth Duration: Annual
– India lovegrass
– annual false wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring in scattered locations east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Arizona, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains.
Habitat: Dry wasteland, disturbed areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Annual
–
alpine fescue
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– alpine fescue
– prairie fescue
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– fine-leaf sheep fescue
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bluebunch fescue, Idaho fescue
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Grasslands and sagebrush desert to dry mountain slopes, occasionally to the subalpine.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– western fescue
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to southwestern Alberta and Wyoming; disjunct in the Great Lakes area.
Habitat: Forest understory, edges, and openings to rocky slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– sheep fescue
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Roemer's fescue
Distribution: Chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia south to California.
Habitat: Meadows, grasslands, balds and forest openings mostly at low elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
red fescue
Origin: Both native and introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– rock fescue
– dune red fescue
– red fescue
–
Rocky Mountain fescue
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America, also in Far East Russia.
Habitat: Montane and subalpine meadows and open forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Rocky Mountain fescue
– bearded fescue
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - Early June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– crinkle-awn fescue
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Shady sites in dry to moist, lowland to montane forest.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– hard fescue
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Valais fescue
Origin: Introduced
– green-leaf fescue
Distribution: British Colubia south to California, east to Alberta and Montana.
Habitat: Subalpine slopes, rock slides, and meadows to well above timberline.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Washington fescue
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Southern British Columbia Washington.
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– small floating manna grass
Distribution: Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to California and New Mexico.
Habitat: Swamps, wet meadows, and stream margins, often growing in 1-3 feet of water.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - October
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Canada mannagrass, rattlesnake mannagrass
Origin: Introduced
– rattlesnake manna grass
– low glyceria
Origin: Introduced
– tall mannagrass
Distribution: British Columbia south on both sides of the Cascades to California, east to Montana and New Mexico.
Habitat: Lake margins, stream banks, moist mountain meadows and other wet areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– water mannagrass
Origin: Introduced
–
American mannagrass
Distribution: Alaska south to Oregon, chiefly east of the Cascades; east to northeast United States and south to Virginia and New Mexico.
Habitat: Sloughs, damp meadows and stream borders.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - Early August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– reed mannagrass
– slender-spike manna grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– tall mannagrass
Origin: Introduced
– northwestern manna grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– fowl manna grass
Distribution: Alaska south to northern California, east to Newfoundland and Florida.
Habitat: Wet places, bogs, and mountain meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– beardless false oat
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
needle-and-thread
Distribution: British Columbia south on the east side of the Cascades to California, east to Ontario and Texas.
Habitat: Plains and prairies to forested areas in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– needle and thread
– Tweedy's needlegrass
– California sweet grass, California sweetgrass
Origin: Native
– hairy sweetgrass, vanillagrass
Distribution: Occurring in scattered locations across Washington; Alaska south to Washington, east across the northern half of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Wet meadows and marshes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common velvet grass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; Alaska to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Balds, prairies, roadsides, meadows, lawns, wastelots, and other disturbed open areas.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
creeping softgrass, creeping velvet-grass
Origin: Introduced
– creeping velvet grass
–
meadow barley
Distribution: Alaska south to California, east to Montana and Colorado.
Habitat: Ocean beaches to mountain meadows,usually where moist, but also from dry sagebrush desert to rocky ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– meadow barley
– dwarf barley
Distribution: Introduced from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south on both sides of the Cascades to southern California, east to western Idaho.
Habitat: A weed of waste areas, especially where moist.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - June
Growth Duration: Annual
–
foxtail barley
Distribution: Alaska south on both sides of the Cascades to California, east across Canada to the Atlantic Coast, south to Mexico.
Habitat: Common weed of dry to moist soil, from sagebrush desert to grasslands and mountain forests, often abundent in disturbed areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– foxtail barley
–
Mediterranean barley
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– Mediterranean barley
–
mouse barley, smooth barley, wall barley
Distribution: Uncommon weed in the United States, occasional in southern British Columbia and western Washington.
Habitat: Disturbed soil and wasteland.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Annual
– mouse barley
– mouse barley
– mouse barley
– little barley
Distribution: Eastern Washington south to southern California, east to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Grasslands to desert areas, often on saline soils and wasteland.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - June
Growth Duration: Annual
–
barley
Distribution: Occurring in scattered locations on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout North America.
Habitat: Old fields, wasteland, roadsides, and other disturbed areas where escaped from cultivation.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– common barley
– Koeler's prairie grass, prairie Junegrass
Distribution: Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to northern Mexico, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast except in the southeastern U.S.
Habitat: Sagebrush deserts, prairies, and open forests to subalpine ridges, mostly on sandy to rocky soil.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– rice cut grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades in Washington; British Columbia east to the Atlantic Coast, south throughout the U.S.
Habitat: Wet places, often in fairly deep water.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Great Basin lyme grass
Distribution: East of the Cascades in Washington; central and western North America.
Habitat: Sagebrush-steppe, arid grasslands, forest edges, and other dry, open areas in the intermountain west.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– giant wildrye
Origin: Native
– sand lyme grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
American dunegrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington along the immediate marine coastline; Alaska to California, east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America.
Habitat: Coastal sand dunes, marshes, and headlands, where tolerant of salt water.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– yellow ryegrass
– mammoth lyme grass, mammoth wildrye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central Washington to north-central Oregon, east to Wyoming.
Habitat: Sandy areas in sagebrush flats and plains.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– beardless lyme grass, beardless wildrye
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Texas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Vancouver wildrye
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– annual ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, perennial ryegrass
Distribution: Introduced and well established in much of temperate North America.
Habitat: Roadsides and waste ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Biennial, Perennial
– English ryegrass, perennial ryegrass
Distribution: Commonly cultivated as a forage plant; escaped and well established in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Old fields, roadsides, and waste places.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
darnel, tare
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Annual
– darnel
– bearded melic grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– onion grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
silky melic
Origin: Introduced
– small melic grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - Early July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Harford's melic grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Smith's melic grass
Distribution: Slouthern British Columbia south to Oregon, east to Alberta and Wyoming.
Habitat: Moist woods.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– showy melic grass
Distribution: Southern British Columbia south to northern California chiefly east of the Caascade crest, east to Montana and Colorado.
Habitat: Usually in moist, loamy soil in meadows and open parks in mountain forests, but also dry to wet meadowlands and open forests to subalpine ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Alaska oniongrass
Distribution: Southern Alaska south to California, east to Montana and Wyoming.
Habitat: Open slopes to thick, dry or moist woods, from near sea level to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Chinese silvergrass
Origin: Introduced
– purple moor grass
Distribution: Known from a single locality in King County where it is persistent; occurring in scattered locations throughout North America.
Habitat: Disturbed areas at low elevation near the coast.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– foxtail muhly
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– or alkali muhly, scratchgrass
Distribution: British Columbia south, east of the Cascades, to California, east to Montana and Texas.
Habitat: Dry to moist alkaline places.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pullup muhly
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Kansas.
Habitat: Moist or wet meadows, shores, seeps, hot springs, and stream banks.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– spiked muhly
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– wirestem muhly
Origin: Native
– annual muhly, least muhly
Origin: Native
Flowers: July
Growth Duration: Annual
– matted muhly
Distribution: British Columbia south, east of the Cascade crests, to Baja California, east to New Brunswick and New Mexico.
Habitat: Moist to dry lowlands, meadows, mountain prairies and rocky slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– white-grain mountain-rice grass
Distribution: British Columbia east to Newfoundland, south to Maine and Montana and the northeast portion of Washington.
Habitat: Open coniferous woods.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
witchgrass
Distribution: Introduced and weedy in much of the United States and southern Canada.
Habitat: Moist and irrigated areas, along streams and around ponds.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Annual
– or common panicgrass, witchgrass
–
fall panicum
Distribution: Native in most of central and eastern United States; occasionally introduced in Washington.
Habitat: Waste ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - September
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– fall panicum, western witchgrass
–
millet
Distribution: Introduced and cultivated in many parts of the United States; occasionally escaping and persisting in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Abandoned fields, roadsides, waste ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Annual
– broomcorn, hog millet, panic millet, proso millet
– broomcorn, hog millet, panic millet
Origin: Introduced from central and eastern North America
Growth Duration: Perennial
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; occurring in scattered locations near Portland, OR and Boise, ID, otherwise east of the Rocky Mountains in central and eastern North America where native.
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, and other disturbed areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– sicklegrass
Origin: Introduced
– western-wheat grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– knotgrass, Thompsongrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly along the lower Columbia River corridor in Washington; occurring in most of western North America and the southeastern U.S.
Habitat: Along ditches and streams where the soil is moist much of the season.
Origin: Native
Flowers: August-October
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pearl millet
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– tender fountaingrass
Origin: Introduced from the eastern Mediterranean
– reed canary grass
Distribution: Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America, except for extreme southern U.S., to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Stream banks, meadows, fields, roadsides, irrigation ditches, and other disturbed open places from low elevations to nearly the subalpine.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common canary grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Annual
– Mediterranean canary grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Annual
– mountain Timothy
Distribution: Alaska east to Newfoundland, south in the subalpine regions of the mountains in most of western United States.
Habitat: Streambanks and meadows at higher elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Timothy
Distribution: Both sides of the Cascades in Washington; throughout North America.
Habitat: Disturbed areas, especially moist, open meadows, from coast to midmontane.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common Timothy
–
common reed
Distribution: In scattered locations throughout many areas of Washington; widely distributed throughout North America; circumboreal.
Habitat: Disturbed areas, including roadsides, often where wet or seasonally moist.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– common reed
– common reed
– little mountain-ricegrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia, south east of the Cascade crest to Oregon, east to Montana and Colorado.
Habitat: Sandy to rocky soil, mountain meadows to subalpine and alpine ridges and slopes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– nodding false semaphore grass
Distribution: Southern British Columbia south in both the Olympics and Cascades of Washington, and the Cascades and coastal mountains of Oregon, to Mendocino County, California.
Habitat: Bogs, stream banks, swampy meadows,and moist, shaded woods, from near sea level toabout 5000 feet elevation in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
alpine bluegrass
Origin: Native
– alpine blue grass
– annual blue grass
Distribution: Common weed throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Lawns, gardens, roadsides, and waste ground to open woods.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: March - August
Growth Duration: Annual, Biennial
–
Arctic bluegrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to Rocky Mountains; circumpolar.
Habitat: Subalpine and alpine areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Bolander's blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Annual
–
bulbous bluegrass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Disturbed areas from the coast to midmontane.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: March-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bulbous bluegrass
– flat-stem blue grass
Distribution: Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to most of the United States; common in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Waste ground, roadsides, and gardens to open woods and meadows, usually where moist.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– coastline blue grass
Distribution: VAncouver Island, British Columbia, south along the coast to San Francisco, California.
Habitat: Coastal sand dunes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– little mountain blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Cusick's bluegrass
Distribution: British Columbia south in the Olympics and Cascades to California, east to Saskatchewan and Colorado.
Habitat: Sagebrush plains to alpine meadows and ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Cusick's bluegrass
– skyline bluegrass
– Cusick's bluegrass
– Cusick's bluegrass
–
muttongrass
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - August
– muttongrass
Origin: Native
– timberline bluegrass
– Howell's bluegrass
Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington and in the Columbia River Gorge; southern British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Lowland to montane rocky banks, forested slopes, and disturbed areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Annual
– weak bluegrass
Origin: Introduced
– interior bluegrass, woods blue grass
Origin: Native
– loose-flower blue grass
Distribution: Southern Alaska south to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington and Multnomah, Clackamus and Benton Counties, Oregon.
Habitat: Moist woods to rocky, open slopes, from near sea level to lower elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Leiberg's blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late March - May
Growth Duration: Perennial
– marsh blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Letterman's blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– sand-dune blue grass
Distribution: Southern Vancouver Island and the islands of Puget Sound, south along the coast to Mendocino County, California.
Habitat: Chiefly on sand dunes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– withered blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– woodland bluegrass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Hooker's blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– fowl blue grass
Distribution: Introduced and widely distributed through Alaska and Canada, south to northern California and Virginia.
Habitat: Sea level to open meadows and forested areas in the mountains, always where moist.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Alaska blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: Late June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
Kentucky bluegrass
Distribution: Throughout Washington; common throughout temperate world.
Habitat: Moist, distrurbed areas at from the coast to middle elevations.
Origin: Both native and introduced
Flowers: April - October
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Kentucky blue grass
Distribution: Widely distributed throughout Washington; Alaska south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.
Habitat: Grasslands and forest openings from sea-level to the alpine
Origin: Native
Flowers: April-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– alkali bluegrass, big bluegrass, Nevada bluegrass
– curly blue grass
–
narrow-flowered bluegrass
Origin: Native
– narrow-flower blue grass
– western blue grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; south-central British Columbia to central Oregon.
Habitat: Open, rocky ground in alpine areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
rough-stalk blue grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
sea-bluff bluegrass
Origin: Native
– San Francisco blue grass
– Wheeler's blue grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– arctic bent
Origin: Native
– alpine bent, mountain bent
Origin: Native
– Thurber's bent
Origin: Native
– Chilean rabbit's-foot grass
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Asia Minor bluegrass
Origin: Introduced
– ditch rabbit's-foot grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Mediterranean rabbitsfoot grass
Distribution: Known from Klickitat County in WA; Washington to California, east to Nevada; also in southeastern North America.
Habitat: Shoreline of ponds, lakes and rivers.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– annual rabbit's-foot grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout much of North America.
Habitat: Wet to dry waste areas, including vernal pools where the water is brackish.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-August
Growth Duration: Annual
– beardless rabbit's-foot grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Russian-wild rye
Origin: Introduced
– ?bluebunch wheatgrass
Distribution: British Columbia south, chiefly east of the Cascade crests, but also in the coastal mountains, to California, east to the Dakotas and New Mexico.
Habitat: From the plains to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Japanese bamboo
Habitat: Forest edge, roadsides, and other disturbed areas at low elevations where escaping from cultivation.
Origin: Introduced from Asia
Growth Duration: Perennial
– weeping alkaligrass, European alkali grass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades in Washington; North-central British Columbia south, chiefly east of the Cascades, to California, east through most of Canada and to the east base of the Rockies.
Habitat: Moist soil, especially where alkaline.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Lemmon's alkali grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– coast alkaligrass
Origin: Introduced
– Nootka alkali grass, shining alkali grass
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Nuttall's alkali grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Minnesota, Kansas, eastern and eastern North America.
Habitat: Coastal salt marshes and inland alkali shores and stream banks.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– dwarf alkali grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– blowout grass
Origin: Introduced from central United States
– broadleaf bamboo
Distribution: Occurring in the Puget Sound lowlands in Washington; also known from Tennessee.
Habitat: Disturbed lowland areas where escaping from cultivation.
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Perennial
– tall fescue, tall rye grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout North America.
Habitat: Meadowlands, fallow fields an ditch banks.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– meadow fescue, meadow rye grass
Distribution: Occurring in scattered localities on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout North America.
Habitat: Meadows, pastures, roadsides, and other disturbed areas, often where moist
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May-July
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
broom bluestem, little bluestem
Distribution: Alberta east to Quebec, south through most of the United States east of the rockies; sparingly introduced in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Prairies and foothills.
Origin: Native?
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– broom beardgras, broom bluestem, little bluestem
– common hard grass
Distribution: Sparingly introduced in much of western United States; established in eastern Washington and Oregon.
Habitat: Weed of waste areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June
Growth Duration: Annual
– fern grass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Annual
– Scribner's grass
Origin: Native
Flowers: April - May
Growth Duration: Annual
– cultivated rye
Distribution: Widely cultivated, especially in poor, dry soil, often persistent for more than one season.
Habitat: Roadsides and waste ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Annual, Biennial
– Chinese foxtail
Origin: Introduced from China
Growth Duration: Annual
– Italian bristlegrass, foxtail millet
Origin: Introduced from China
Growth Duration: Annual
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– yellow foxtail, pigeon grass
– yellow foxtail
– hooked bristlegrass, rough bristlegrass
Distribution: Sparingly introduced in the Pacific Northwest; more common in other parts of the United States.
Habitat: Weed of gardens, irrigated areas and wasteland.
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: August - September
Growth Duration: Annual
Distribution: Widely distributed throughout much of Washington; widely distributed throughout much of North America.
Habitat: Disturbed soil and wasteland.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: June-October
Growth Duration: Annual
– green bristlegrass
– sorghum
Origin: Introduced from Africa
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– Johnson grass
Distribution: Introduced and established in much of the United States; rarely persistent in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Waste ground, especially where moist.
Origin: Introduced from Mediterranean
Flowers: July - October
Growth Duration: Perennial
– saltwater cordgrass, smooth cordgrass
Distribution: Introduced in Pacific County, Washington; common along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
Habitat: Along the coast in brackish water.
Origin: Introduced from the Atlantic coast of North America
Flowers: August - September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– English cordgrass
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Chilean cordgrass
Origin: Introduced from Chile
Growth Duration: Perennial
– alkali cordgrass
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– saltmeadow cordgrass
Origin: Introduced from the Atlantic Coast of North America
Growth Duration: Perennial
– freshwater cordgrass, prairie cordgrass
Distribution: Eastern Washington and Oregon, east to Newfoundland and North Carolina.
Habitat: Ditches, ponds, and fresh-water marshes.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Townsend's cordgrass
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Growth Duration: Perennial
– slender wedgescale
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– prairie wedgescale
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - July
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
– alkali sacaton
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to California and Mexico, east to the Great Plains; introduced in eastern North America.
Habitat: Mesic or damp slopes and flats, often where alkaline, shores, grasslands, vernal pools, and hot springs at low to middle elevations.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July-August
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
composite dropseed, tall dropseed
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
– rough dropseed
– sand dropseed
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to southern California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast except in the extreme southeastern U.S.
Habitat: Sagebrush desert, especilly where sandy, to the foothills and grassland.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– small dropseed
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - September
Growth Duration: Annual
–
poverty dropseed
Distribution: Occurring in scattered locations on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Washington and California, east to Idaho and the southwestern U.S.; native from Great Plains east to Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, and other disturbed, open areas.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– poverty dropseed
– medusa-head
Distribution: Sparingly introduced in east-central Washington; more common on both sides of the Cascades in Oregon, east into southeast Idaho and south into California.
Habitat: Weed of waste ground.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: May - June
Growth Duration: Annual
–
intermediate wheatgrass
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– pubescent wheatgrass
– intermediate wheatgrass
– Eurasian wheatgrass
Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Yukon Territory to California, east to the Great Plains.
Habitat: Disturbed areas including roadsides, wastelots, and agricultural fields.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: May-June
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
pale false manna grass
Distribution: Alaska south along the coast to California, east to Alberta and New Mexico.
Habitat: Wet places, from near sea level to 11,000 feet elevation in mountain meadows.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– weak alkaligrass
– ravennagrass
Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; southeastern Washington to adjacent Oregon, also in Boise, Idaho; California and sporadically eastward to the Atlantic Coast.
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, and other disturbed, open areas.
Origin: Introduced from Eurasia
Flowers: July-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
–
purple sandgrass
Origin: Introduced
– purple sandgrass
– tall false oat
Origin: Native
Flowers: May - July
Growth Duration: Perennial
– nodding Trisetum
Origin: Native
– yellow false oat
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Perennial
– narrow false oat, spike trisetum
Distribution: Occurring in the mountainous areas on both sides of the Cascades crest throughout Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, further east to the Great Lakes region and eastern North America.
Habitat: Montane forests to alpine slopes in rocky, dry or moist areas.
Origin: Native
Flowers: June-September
Growth Duration: Perennial
– bread wheat
Distribution: Introduced world-wide, but fails to persist more that a few seasons on its own.
Habitat: Cultivated in fields.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: April - June
Growth Duration: Annual
– arctic-hair grass
Distribution: Alaska south to the high mountains of California, east to Newfoundland and New Hamshire.
Habitat: Mountain meadows, streambanks, and lake margins to alpine ridges.
Origin: Native
Flowers: July - August
Growth Duration: Perennial
– Ventenata
Distribution: Chiefly in the eastern portion of Washington; British Columbia south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains; also in eastern North America.
Habitat: Roadsides, pastures, crop land, and other disturbed sites.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: June-July
Growth Duration: Annual
– brome fescue
Distribution: Introduced from southern British Columbia to southern California and Arizona, occasional farther east.
Habitat: From ocean beaches and salt marshes to sagebrush deserts.
Origin: Introduced
Flowers: April - June
Growth Duration: Annual
– small fescue
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Annual
– rattail fescue, rattail six-weeks grass
Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; widely distributed throughout most of North America except for the Great Plains and eastern Canada.
Habitat: Balds, open slopes, grasslands, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed open areas
Origin: Introduced from Europe
Flowers: April-June
Growth Duration: Annual
–
six–weeks fescue
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Annual
– six-weeks fescue
– six-weeks fescue
–
corn
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– corn, Indian corn, maize
–
northern wild rice
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
– northern wild rice