Our logo is an artist's rendition of purple needlegrass—nassella pulchra—a perennial bunchgrass that grows in the oak chaparral and grasslands of the Coast Ranges and Sierran foothills of California. It forms dense clumps of leaves up to 1 foot tall, and typically blooms in May. The flower stalks can be up to 2 feet tall. Purple needlegrass has been nominated to be California's official state grass.

Purple needlegrass can extend roots deep into the soil and live for hundreds of years, a fitting symbol for California's cultural legacy.