Plant Database
Mendocino Reed Grass
Calamagrostis foliosa
Calamagrostis foliosa, commonly known as Mendocino Reed Grass or Leafy Reed Grass, is a beautiful, compact California native bunchgrass prized for its dense, fountain-like form, striking blue-green to gray-green foliage, and showy, long-lasting flower spikes . This cool-season perennial forms a tidy, evergreen clump of narrow, arching leaves that often develop attractive purple highlights, especially in cooler months . From mid-spring through early summer, it produces short, arching flower stalks bearing silvery-purple to buff-colored seed heads that age to a warm golden wheat tone, extending ornamental interest into fall . Exceptionally well-behaved, drought-tolerant once established, and resistant to deer and herbivores, it is an outstanding choice for mass plantings, meadows, slopes, coastal gardens, and small-space accents in water-wise landscapes . Note: This rare California native (CNPS 4.2) does not respond well to hard cutting back; instead, rake out dead thatch or divide clumps in late winter or spring .