Crypsis vaginiflora
Crypsis schoenoides
African prickle grass, modest prickle grass
swamp grass, swamp prickle grass
1-30 cm, often profusely branching above the base, with 10-25 panicles per culm.
2-75 cm, prostrate to erect, sometimes geniculate, usually not branching above the base, but some plants profusely branched.
pilose on the margins;
collars pilose;
blades 1-5 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, soon disarticulating, thus many leaves on mature plants are bladeless.
glabrous or ciliate at the throat, often inflated;
collars glabrous;
ligules 0.5-1 mm;
blades 2-10 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, not disarticulating.
0.3-1.5(3.5) cm long, 3-6(10) mm wide, 1-5 times longer than wide, sessile or almost so, mostly included in the sheaths of the upper 2 leaves.
0.3-4(7.5) cm long, 5-6(15) mm wide, 1-5 times longer than wide, bases usually enclosed in the uppermost leaf sheaths at maturity.
2.5-3.2 mm, readily disarticulating when disturbed, otherwise retained within the upper sheaths.
2.7-3.2 mm, tardily disarticulating.
about 3 mm, subequal;
lower glumes pilose on the margins;
lemmas subequal to the glumes;
paleas minutely 2-veined;
anthers 3, 0.5-0.9 mm.
1.8-2.3 mm;
upper glumes 2.2-2.7 mm;
lemmas 2.4-3 mm;
paleas 2-veined;
anthers 3, 0.7-1.1 mm.
1.3-1.7 mm.
about 1.3 mm.
= 48.
= 32.
Crypsis vaginiflora
Crypsis schoenoides
Crypsis vaginiflora is common to abundant in clay or sandy clay soil in California, where it was first introduced in the late 1800s. It has since been found at a few locations in Washington, Idaho, and Nevada, and will probably spread to additional sites with suitable habitat in the future. It is native to Egypt and southwestern Asia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Crypsis schoenoides is common to abundant in clay or sandy clay soils around drying lake margins and vernal pools. In the Flora region, it is most abundant in California, but also appears to be established in a few other western states. It is known from a few collections in several eastern states (where it was first introduced in the late 1800s), though apparently none more recently than 1955. Its native range extends from southern Europe and northern Africa through western Asia to India.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WA- Local floras:
CA, 
OR - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
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Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
MI Flora, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
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