Purple Needlegrass, Stipa pulchra

About Purple Needlegrass (Stipa pulchra) 65 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Purple needlegrass or purple stipa is native to California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, and mountain ranges, as well as the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and Baja California. It grows in many types of local habitats, including grassland, chaparral, and oak woodland. It grows well on clay and serpentine soils. It is a perennial grass producing tufts of erect, unbranched stems up to a meter tall. The extensive root system can reach 20 feet deep into the soil, making the grass more tolerant of drought. The open, nodding flower cluster is up to 60 centimeters long and has many branches bearing spikelets. The plant produces copious seed, up to 227 pounds per acre in dense stands. The pointed fruit is purple-tinged when young and has an awn up to 10 centimeters long which is twisted and bent twice. The shape of the seed helps it self-bury. Purple needlegrass became the California State Grass in 2004. It is considered a symbol of the state because it is the most widespread native California grass and it helps suppress invasive plant species and support native oaks.

This plant is very easy in the right place, though it can be crowded out and shaded by other more aggressive plants. Reseeds easily.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grass

Size

3.3 ft tall
1.5 ft wide

Form

Fountain

Growth Rate

Moderate, Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Green, Purple, Red

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

A diverse native grassland attracts numerous insects, birds and small mammals
Butterfly gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 5 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Juba Skipper Hesperia jubaHesperia juba

Common Ringlet Coenonympha tulliaCoenonympha tullia

Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevadaHesperia nevada

Uncas Skipper Hesperia uncasHesperia uncas

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 65

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Found in virtually every type of soil. Tolerates Serpentine Soil,Tolerates Sodic Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Groundcovers, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants

Potential companion plants include nearly every native shrub. To maintain a true grassland look without shrubs, use geophytes such as Wild Onions (Allium species), Brodiaea species, Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus species) and Dichelostemma species, along with annual wildflowers from seed.

Propagation?

Tends to self-sow under favorable conditions. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting

Site Type

Found in many settings including valley grasslands, openings in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, understory of oak woodlands, on coastal prairie as well as coastal bluffs, terraces, mesas, inland canyons, valleys, foothills, dry meadows, etc.

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 6.5" - 98.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.52", Coldest Month: 25.7" - 57.6", Hottest Month: 48.6" - 84.4", Humidity: 0.02" - 36.40", Elevation: -151" - 9884"

Alternative Names

Botanical Names: Nassella pulchra
Common Names: Purple Stipa, Purple Tussockgrass

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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 Needlegrass

Stipa pulchra

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Purple NeedlegrassStipa pulchra

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Purple Needlegrass

Stipa pulchra