California Invasive Plant Council

Stipa tenuissima

Common names: Mexican feathergrass

Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feathergrass) is a perennial grass (family Poaceae) that can grow to be 2 feet tall and is found in the central and south coast ranges of California. It is native to Mexico, Texas, Argentina and Chile. It favors grasslands and woodlands. It spreads only by seeds which are dispersed by livestock, humans, wind and water. Seeds adhere to clothing and fur.

Cal-IPC Rating: Watch

CDFA Rating: None?

Explanation of CDFA ratings

• A – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and is either not known to be established in California or it is present in a limited distribution that allows for the possibility of eradication or successful containment.
• B – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and, if present in California, it is of limited distribution.
• C – A pest of known economic or environmental detriment and, if present in California, it is usually widespread.
• D – An organism known to be of little or no economic or environmental detriment, to have an extremely low likelihood of weediness, or is known to be a parasite or predator.
• Q – An organism or disorder suspected to be of economic or environmental detriment, but whose status is uncertain because of incomplete identification or inadequate information.
• * – An asterisk next to the rating indicates that a plant is included in the CCR Section 4500 list of California State Noxious Weeds.
• -* – This plant is included in the CCR Section 4500 list of California State Noxious Weeds, but is otherwise not rated.

More details

Assessment(s)

Plant Risk Assessment - An evaluation of the potential for a plant to be invasive in California.

Weed Management Notes

Cal-IPC Newsletter Articles

• PlantRight update: Nursery survey and plant list. Falzone, Stephanie. Vol 25, Issue 3
• PlantRight makes strides promoting non-invasive gardening and landscaping. Richardson, Greg; Merryweather, Jan. Vol 22, Issue 3
• Wildland Weed News. Cal-IPC. Vol 22, Issue 2
• New weed alerts!. DiTomaso, Joe. Vol 13, Issue 4

Cal-IPC Symposium Presentations

Presentations are linked where available. Where a presentation is not available, find more information by reading the abstract in the Cal-IPC Symposia Archive.

• 2005 Cal-IPC weed alerts, new invasions, recent expansions, and a few others to be on the look-out for. DiTomaso, Joseph M. (2005)
• 2004 Cal-IPC Red Alert! New invasions, recent expansions, and a few others to be on the look-out for…. DiTomaso, Joseph M. (2004)

Other Stipa tenuissima Information

• CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.
• Calflora - Distribution map and records of this species in California.
• CalWeedMapper - Distribution map of this species in California with ability to determine regional priorities.
• EDDMapS - Distribution of this species in North America.
• Jepson Interchange - Information on this plant's taxonomy, biology, and distribution from UC Berkeley's Jepson Herbarium.
• USDA PLANTS Database - Information on identification and distribution, with links to websites in individual states.

Additional photos