SafePlants

Arizona Cottontop (Digitaria californica)

Digitaria californica, commonly known as Arizona cottontop, is a perennial, warm-season bunchgrass native to the Americas. It is valued for its use as forage and in land restoration projects.

Common Names

• Arizona Cottontop
• California Cottontop
• Punta Blanca
• California Crabgrass
• Zacate Punta Blanca

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Digitaria californica (Benth.) Henr.
• Synonym: Trichachne californica
• Family: Poaceae (Grass Family)

Considerations for Pets

• The seedheads are described as "white cotton-like". While generally palatable, ingestion of large quantities of any grass seedhead may cause digestive upset in some animals.

Distribution and Habitat

• Native to the Americas.
• Commonly found in the southwestern United States, from Colorado to Texas and Arizona.
• Also found in Mexico.
• Specifically mentioned as native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts in North America, and southern Texas.

Ecological Role

• Used for rangeland reseeding and wildlife habitat restoration.
• Considered a useful forage grass in southwestern North America.
• Provides grazing for cattle, horses, and sometimes sheep.
• Palatable to livestock.
• Dominant perennial grass on many southwestern semidesert ranges.

Morphological Characteristics

• Perennial, warm-season bunchgrass.
• Extensive root system.
• Warm season perennial bunchgrass.
• Plants have white cotton-like seedheads 2-5 inches long.

Quirky Facts

• A selected germplasm of Arizona cottontop has been released for rangeland reseeding and wildlife habitat. One such variety is called 'Loetta'.

Further Information

• University of Arizona Libraries.
• Arizona Native Plant Society.
• Gould, Frank, 1951, Grasses of the Southwestern United States, Tucson: University of Arizona Press.