Thorneochloa is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Poaceae. It contains a single species, Thorneochloa diegoensis, commonly known as San Diego needlegrass.[1] It is a perennial grass native to California and to Todos Santos in the southern Baja California Peninsula.[2]
Thornelochloa diegoensis is a bunching perennial grass reaching heights between 110 and 140 centimeters. The inflorescence is up to about 25 centimeters long. The hairy spikelet is about a centimeter long not counting the long awn, which can be up to 5 centimeters long and has two distinct kinks.[1]
Thornelochloa diegoensis is native to southern California, where it is known from San Diego and Ventura Counties and the Channel Islands, and Baja California.[1] It is a resident of chaparral and coastal sage scrub ecosystems below 350 feet in elevation, especially near streams.[3]