1. * Purple Three-awn – Aristida purpurea
(ar-RISS-ti-duh pur-PUR-ee-uh)
Family: Poaceae (Grass Family)
Native to: Dry foothills of S. CA coastal and Transverse Ranges to Texas & N. Mexico; dry slopes
and plains in scrub land and chaparral, usually in sandy or clay soils.
perennial bunchgrass
mature height: 1-2 ft. mature width: 1-2 ft.
Warm-season perennial bunchgrass with dense, fin-textured foliage. Leaves light blue-green, facing
to purple and then gold in summer drought. Upright growth.
Fast growing. Note: dried seeds
stick in animal hair, paws, ears.
Growth characteristics:
Blooms spring/summer in our area. If watered in July/Aug. it will have a second
bloom in late summer & fall. Flowers in plume-like, nodding, purplish seed heads with long bristles.
Very showy – looks like a cloud of purple above the foliage.
Blooms/fruits:
Uses in the garden: Often used as an ornamental grass for its neat foliage and showy blooms. Nice
addition to a dry natural meadow or clustered in mixed beds. Good for erosion control on slopes –
deep fibrous roots.
Nice contrast to other native grasses, shrubs.
This grass gives a vertical
element to mixed grass prairies and grass gardens.
Sensible substitute for: Non-native ornamental grasses like Mexican Feather Grass, Pennisetum.
Attracts: Good bird habitat: provides nesting materials, seeds. Larval food for Skipper butterflies.
Requirements:
Element
Sun
Soil
Water
Fertilizer
Other
Requirement
Full sun (best) to light shade.
Any well-drained soil, but does best in sandy or rocky soils; any local pH.
Drought tolerant, but best with occasional summer water (Zone 1-2 to 2)
none
Prune back to 4 inches when old stems accumulate (try to prune when it’s not
Will reseed in favorable locations (can remove flowering stalks before seed drop).
Management:
blooming).
Propagation: from seed: warm temperatures for germination
by divisions: yes
Plant/seed sources (see list for source numbers): 1, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 20, 24
* Native to CA but not to Western L.A. Co.
2/27/11
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