Index / Search / Nassella cernua

§1 Plant

Nassella cernua (Stebbins & R.M. Love) Barkworth

vernacular nodding needlegrass — species · Poaceae


USDA
NACE
GBIF
5289832
Rank
species
nodding needlegrass (Nassella cernua)
Platephotograph · Jay Keller source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Graminoid
Duration
Perennial
Group
Monocot
Family
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus
Nassella
§2a

Native status, by region

  • HI Hawaii Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 35 counties across 2 states/territories
Legend Native · 34 Introduced · 1 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
17 °F minimum
Frost-free days
280 min.
Precipitation
12–18 in/yr
pH range
5.8–7.2
Root depth
12 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Bunch
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
2.6 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Spring
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
200,000
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 35 counties across 2 states/territories.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/NACE ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5289832 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z