Scientific Family
Poaceae
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Cool
Warm
Grows throughout the world in dry grasslands, sandy woodlands, arid deserts, open weedy habitats and on rocky slopes and mesas.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
6500
Similar species
Aristide purpurea var. nealleyi
General Description
Old leaves persistent at base of plant, stem nodes swollen or brittle, stems erect or ascending, stems tufted or clustered.
Tufted perennial with narrow seedheads. Awns nearly equal, basal portions distinctly twisted. Glumes 1-nerved, nearly equal, first a little longer than the second. Distinguished from A. purpurea var. nealleyi by flat curly blades and longer awns.
Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
Yes
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
24 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Branched - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
1/4 inch to 1 inch
Three Awns
Yes
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead is narrow, terminal, and compound. Seedhead stem 1 to 3 feet, not woody, sometimes branched above the base. The central awn is 1/2 inch long and the lateral awns are slightly shorter.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Leaves predominantly basal, blades are 4 to 12 inches long and 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches wide, usually flat, often curling like wood shavings when mature.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Hairy
Auricles
No
Three awn grass species are generally classified as fair to poor forage. They green up after the spring rains more rapidly than most grasses and can be used heavily at this time. They are grazed lightly after more palatable grasses begin to grow.