California Invasive Plant Council

Agrostis avenacea

Synonyms: Agrostis retrofracta

Common names: Pacific bentgrass

Agrostis avenacea (Pacific bentgrass) is a perennial grass (family Pocaceae) commonly found throughout northern California and San Diego County. This weed easily outcompetes native vegetation. Pacific bentgrass inhabits open, disturbed, often moist places to 300 m elevation. It is especially invasive in vernal pool habitat in the San Diego area.

Cal-IPC Rating: Limited

Cal-IPC Assessment

Plant Assessment Form - Information gathered by Cal-IPC on the impacts, rate of spread, and distribution of invasive plants in California. Does not include management information.

Weed Management Notes

• Management Notes - Information on management techniques and effectiveness from the University of California Cooperative Extension’s Weed Research & Information Center.

Cal-IPC Newsletter Articles

• Best laid plans… Australian bentgrass (Agrostis avenacea) invades following seasonal wetland enhancement. Meisler, Julian. Vol 20, Issue 3

Cal-IPC Symposium Presentations

Presentations are linked where available. Where a presentation is not available, find more information by reading the abstract in the Cal-IPC Symposia Archive.

• Exotics in the southern California vernal pool ecosystem. Bauder, Ellen T. (1996)

Other Agrostis avenacea Information

• CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.
• Calflora - See the distribution of this species on Calflora's map of California.
• CalWeedMapper - Distribution information with ability to determine regional priorities.
• Jepson Online Interchange for California Flora - Information on taxonomy, biology, and distribution from UC Berkeley's Jepson Herbarium.
• USDA PLANTS Database - Federal database with information on identification and distribution, and links to websites in individual states.