Nassella, or needlegrass, is a New World genus of over 100 perennial bunchgrasses found from North America through South America. The Latin word nassa refers to "a basket with a narrow neck". It is usually considered segregate from the genus Stipa and includes many New World species formerly classified in that genus. As of 2011, The Jepson Manual includes Nassella within Stipa.
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, and mountain ranges, as well as the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and Baja California.
Danthonia californica is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile.
Elymus glaucus is a species of grass known as blue wild rye or blue wildrye. This grass is native to North America from Alaska to New York to northern Mexico. It is a common and widespread species of wild rye.
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.
Fritillaria striata, the striped adobe lily, is an uncommon species of fritillary.
Stipa coronata, formerly classified as Achnatherum coronatum, is a greenish species of grass known by the common name crested needlegrass, giant ricegrass, and giant stipa.
Achnatherum diegoense is a species of grass known by the common name San Diego needlegrass. It is native to southern California, where it is known from San Diego and Ventura Counties and the Channel Islands, and Baja California.
Achnatherum latiglume is a species of grass known by the common names wide-glumed needlegrass,Sierra needlegrass.
Achnatherum lettermanii is a species of grass known by the common name Letterman's needlegrass. The updated and accepted name is Stipa lettermanii. It is native to the western United States from California to Montana to New Mexico, where it is a resident of several types of habitat.
Stipa parishii, formerly classified as Achnatherum parishii, is a species of grass known by the common name Parish's needlegrass. The Jepson Manual 2nd edition (2012) reclassified the plant as Stipa parishii var. parishii.
Stipa speciosa (syn. Achnatherum speciosum is a species of grass known by the common name desert needlegrass. It is native to much of the south-western United States from California to Colorado, where it grows in dry areas, especially sagebrush habitat. It is also known from Mexico and parts of South America.
Blepharidachne kingii is a species of grass known by the common name King's eyelashgrass. It is native to the Great Basin in the United States, where it grows in habitat such as pinyon-juniper woodland. It is rare in California and Idaho, but it is one of the most common grasses of the northeastern deserts of Nevada.
Danthonia unispicata is a species of grass known by the common name onespike oatgrass, or onespike danthonia.
Ptilagrostis kingii is a species of grass known by the common names Sierra false needlegrass and King's ricegrass. It is endemic to the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in meadows and near streams in subalpine and alpine climates.
Spergularia macrotheca is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sticky sandspurry. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it grows in many types of moist coastal and inland habitat, often in alkaline and saline substrates. It may be found in marshes, alkali flats, beaches, meadows, seeps, and vernal pools. It is a perennial herb producing a narrow stem up to 40 centimeters long with a woody, thickened base and taproot. They may grow erect or prostrate across the ground. It is covered in sticky glandular hairs, especially in the inflorescence. The stems are lined with fleshy linear leaves, sometimes tipped with spines. The leaves are accompanied by triangular stipules up to a centimeter long each. Flowers occur in clusters at the end of the stem as well as in leaf axils. The small flowers have five pointed sepals and five oval white to lavender-pink petals. The fruit is a capsule containing tiny reddish brown, winged seeds.
Achnatherum thurberianum is a species of grass known by the common name Thurber's needlegrass. It is native to the western United States, where it occurs from Washington to California and east to Montana and Wyoming.
Nassella viridula is a species of grass known by the common name green needlegrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in western Canada and the western and central United States. It is introduced in parts of eastern North America.
Stipa lemmonii is a species of grass known by the common name Lemmon's needlegrass. It is native to western North America, where its distribution extends from British Columbia to southern California.
Nassella cernua is a species of grass known by the common name nodding needlegrass.
