Finding Bunchgrasses

Once you know where to look, native bunchgrasses aren’t hard to find.

First look at soil composition.

*Deep, nutrient-rich soil provides ideal habitat for European annual grasses.
*Shallow, rocky, nutrient-poor soil provides ideal habitat for native bunchgrasses.

And remember, you don’t need a shovel or a trowel to observe elementary differences in soil composition. (In fact soil disturbance often encourages invasive weeds, so leave your shovel at home.)

If you can’t see any soil, or especially rocks, because the ground is covered in thick, bright green grass, or lots of dead brown brush, chances are you have rich deep soil, dominated by European annuals.

If you can see rocky gravel or large boulders protruding from the ground, you have the type of habitat where bunchgrasses can compete with annual grasses. The lack of nutrients in the soil keeps the European annuals from growing tall and shading out our native bunchgrasses.

Some of the larger grasses–Festuca Californica and Calamagrostis nutkaensis, for example–can be so dominant that you can’t see any soil. Fortunately, these grasses form large, obvious bunches and aren’t easily confused with European annuals.

Road cuts and trails are often ideal places to find bunchgrasses.

Road cuts tend to be rocky, nutrient poor, and exposed for easy viewing. Look for tufts of grass growing in the road cut. These bunchgrasses’ tenacious roots have found thin veins of water and nutrients in between sedimentary layers in the rock.

Trails in natural areas often have lots of bunchgrasses. Why? Two reasons. Foot traffic often erodes or compacts nutrient-rich soil, enabling bunchgrasses to better compete. Also, since there are no annual grasses or other shading plants in the trail, bunchgrasses on the edge of the trail have ample sunlight.