Foothill Needlegrass, Stipa lepida

About Foothill Needlegrass (Stipa lepida) 39 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Stipa lepida, known as Foothill Needlegrass or Small Flowered Needlegrass, is a native bunchgrass that grows in northwestern, central western, and southwestern California. In nature it tends to grow on dry slopes below 4,600 feet, in chaparral, grassland, oak savanna, or coastal sage scrub habitats.
This is a 'cool season' bunchgrass, with active growth during the winter through spring, and mid to late summer dormancy (partial to full deciduous) into the autumn.

Foothill Needlegrass is moderate to fast growing and can be long-lived. It grows in an upright mounding form to a height of 3 feet. It blooms in the early spring with golden yellow-tan flowers on stems above the foliage. Long narrow leaves are a medium green. It can tolerate occasional summer water, and may stay greener as a consequence, but will rot and die if it gets too much irrigation. It is drought tolerant with a very deep root system once established It is more tolerant of some shade than the other native needlegrasses (Stipa spp.), and can be used under the canopy of mature oaks and other native trees.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grass

Size

2 - 3 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form

Mounding

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous, Summer Semi-Deciduous, Winter Semi-deciduous

Flower Color

Brown, Cream, Purple

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Juba Skipper Hesperia jubaHesperia juba

Common Ringlet Coenonympha tulliaCoenonympha tullia

Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevadaHesperia nevada

Uncas Skipper Hesperia uncasHesperia uncas

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established, Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 39

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage

Slow, Medium

Soil Description

Adaptable but often found in clay loam. Soil PH: 5.3 - 8.2

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Butterfly Host Plants, Deer Resistant, Groundcovers

Companion Plants

Native annual wildflowers such as California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), perennials such as the ground cover Warriner Lytle California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum ‘Warriner Lytle’) & Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), bulbs & geophytes such as Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus spp.) & Common Goldenstar (Bloomeria crocea), and other native bunchgrasses such as Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and Purple Three Awn (Aristida purpurea).

Maintenance

Can be mowed or sheared to 4-6 inches when dormant

Propagation?

For propagating by seed (no treatment, plant in summer/fall) or by divisions (plant in winter)

Sunset Zones?

7*, 8, 9*, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Dry slopes below 4,600 feet

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 9.1" - 101.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.78", Coldest Month: 38.3" - 56.7", Hottest Month: 62.2" - 80.8", Humidity: 0.48" - 28.89", Elevation: 13" - 5599"

Alternative Names

Botanical Names: Nassella lepida
Common Names: Foothill Stipa, Small Flowered Needlegrass, Small-flowered Needlegrass, Small-flowered Stipa, Smallflower Tussockgrass

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Foothill Needlegrass

Stipa lepida

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Foothill NeedlegrassStipa lepida

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Foothill Needlegrass

Stipa lepida