Purple Three Awn, Aristida purpurea

About Purple Three Awn (Aristida purpurea) 40 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Purple Three Awn (Aristida purpurea) is a species of grass native to North America. This grass is fairly widespread and can be found across the western two-thirds of the United States, much of southern Canada, and parts of northern Mexico. It is most abundant on the plains. In California, it is found primarily from Mono County southwards, in desert, mountain and coastal habitats.

This is a perennial grass, growing erect to under up to about 3 feet in height, and the flower glumes (pairs of bracts) often assume a light brown to reddish-purple color. This species includes several recognized varieties that have overlapping geographical ranges.

Purple Three Awn is not considered to be a good graze for livestock, because the awns are sharp and the protein content of the grass is low. It does, however, make an attractive landscape grass that is a good substitute for invasive and non-native grasses.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grasses

Size

1.6 - 3.3 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form

Fountain

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Purple, Red, Brown

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 40

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -20° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 6.5 - 7.5

Common uses

Groundcovers

Companion Plants

Can be used with a very wide variety of other plants from the mountains, deserts or coast. Examples include Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata), Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), Brittlebush (Encelia spp.), Buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), and various cactus and succulent species.

Maintenance

Avoid cutting back the plant if possible. Remove old seed heads by gently pulling.

Propagation?

By seed. This plant readily seeds itself and, like other grasses, it can be mildly invasive in the garden. New young plants can be easily removed by pulling.

Natural Setting

Site Type

Sandy or rocky soils, slopes, plains

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 2.6" - 34.1", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 3.28", Coldest Month: 32.9" - 63.2", Hottest Month: 61.8" - 88.8", Humidity: 1.19" - 42.80", Elevation: 92" - 7251"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Purple Three-awn, Purple Threeawn

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Purple Three Awn

Aristida purpurea

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Purple Three AwnAristida purpurea

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Purple Three Awn

Aristida purpurea