Distribution: Sparingly introduced in east-central Washington; more common on both sides of the Cascades in Oregon, east into southeast Idaho and south into California.
Habitat: Weed of waste ground.
Flowers: May - June
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Usually puberulent annual, the stems 2-6 dm. tall.
Sheaths open; auricles well-developed; ligules membranous, 0.5 mm. long; blades short, 1-1.5 mm. broad, the margins with conspicuous long, stiff hairs.
Inflorescence a spike 2-5 cm. long; spikelets usually 2 per node, crowded, with 1 perfect flower, the rachilla prolonged with a vestige of a second flower; glumes very narrow, stiff, tapered to a slender awn up to 3 cm. long; lemmas scabrous, 3-nerved, 5-7 mm. long, with a strong, flattened awn 3-10 cm. long.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Taeniatherum caput-medusae in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.
WA Flora Checklist: Taeniatherum caput-medusae checklist entry.
E-Flora BC: Taeniatherum caput-medusae atlas page.
CalPhotos: Taeniatherum caput-medusae photos.
USDA Plants: Taeniatherum caput-medusae information.