California oatgrass is a fairly tall, rather leafy perennial which 

 typically grows in small tufts. It ranges from British Columbia to 

 Montana, Colorado, and California and occurs in both dry and moist 

 soils on hillsides, benches, and in canyons of the ponderosa pine, 

 aspen, and spruce belts, ascending to 10,000 feet in Colorado. It is 

 usually typical of open parks, and meadows, but also is present in 

 partial shade in open stands of timber. 



The specimens from the Pacific coast are taller and have finer 

 leafage than those from Colorado and Montana, which perhaps ac- 

 counts for the variation in the forage rating in the two sections. 

 While immature, California oatgrass is considered good to very 

 good forage for cattle and horses in California, Oregon, and Wash- 

 ington, although somewhat less palatable to sheep. It is reputed as 

 fair to fairly good forage for cattle and horses and somewhat less 

 palatable to sheep and goats in the drier, eastern portion of its 

 range. 



Individual plants of California oatgrass produce a relatively 

 large amount of forage, as it is a tall leafy grass, but like the 

 other species of oatgrass it generally occurs scatteringly. It is 

 sometimes abundant locally in Oregon and is said to form a sod in 

 favorable places. This species occasionally forms stands in Cal- 

 ifornia which are dense enough to be cut for hay. The flowering 

 period is from May to August. The species does not produce a 

 copious supply of seed but stools well and is able to withstand con- 

 siderable heavy grazing. Like the other species of western oatgrass, 

 it produces large, hidden, self -fertilizing spikelets at the lower stem 

 joints. 



