Purple Three-Awn
Aristida purpurea
Photographed at the Springs Preserve garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Taken May 2005 by Wikipedia User Stan Shebs. This image is hosted at Wikimedia
GRASS: A perennial grass forming into upright to nearly rounded clumps ca
½ m tall.
LEAVES: Blades narrow, barely 2 mm and about 2 cm long.
RANGE: Common in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts especially
along roadsides and on rocky slopes. Frequently cultivated in xeriscape gardens
of Phoenix and Tucson.
FLOWERS: An abundance of purple-maroon awns (three per spikelet) make
this one of the most attractive of the native grasses.
UNARMED.