Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)

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Botanical name: Achnatherum hymenoides‍ ‍ • Bloom season: Late spring to early summer‍ ‍ • Grass color: Straw-tan ‍ • Pollinator value: Provides overwintering cover for insects and seed for birds

The signature grass of the Great Basin, Indian Ricegrass sends up an airy cloud of seed heads on fine stems that catch low light and move in the breeze. It greens up early, sets seed, and tans the summer. The seed was a staple food for Great Basin peoples and still feeds birds, and the standing clump gives insects somewhere to overwinter.

📸 Indian Rice Grass

Botanical name: Achnatherum hymenoides‍ ‍ • Bloom season: Late spring to early summer‍ ‍ • Grass color: Straw-tan ‍ • Pollinator value: Provides overwintering cover for insects and seed for birds

The signature grass of the Great Basin, Indian Ricegrass sends up an airy cloud of seed heads on fine stems that catch low light and move in the breeze. It greens up early, sets seed, and tans the summer. The seed was a staple food for Great Basin peoples and still feeds birds, and the standing clump gives insects somewhere to overwinter.

📸 Indian Rice Grass

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Achnatherum hymenoides

Common Name: Indian Ricegrass

Native: Native

Native Region: Great Basin; Colorado Plateau; Wyoming Basin; Columbia Plateau; Western Great Plains; Mojave Desert (widespread western)

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer

Bloom Color: Straw-tan

Mature Size: W 1'-2' x H 1'-2'

Soil: Sandy or gravelly; needs sharp drainage, tolerates coarse soil

Pollinator Value: Provides overwintering cover for insects and seed for birds

Plant Type: Perennial bunchgrass

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping bunchgrass; self-sows

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Indian Ricegrass requires full sun and sharp drainage in sandy or gravelly ground; it fails in clay and with irrigation. Space about 18 inches apart. Do not plant it in a bed that gets summer water, since that is the surest way to lose it. Indian Ricegrass establishes slowly but is worth the patience.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun

  • Soil: Sandy or gravelly; needs sharp drainage, tolerates coarse soil

  • Mature size: W 1'-2' x H 1'-2'

Maintenance

Leave the clump standing through winter for cover, and comb out or cut back the old growth in early spring before new growth starts. It is short-lived compared with other bunchgrasses, so let it set seed. No division is needed, and no fertilizer is ever needed.