Aristida purpurea var. nealleyi

Nealley three-awn

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Nealley three-awn is a California native perennial found in southern California coastal areas, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and desert regions on dry slopes and shrublands at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from March to November, this grass produces light brown inflorescences with delicate, spreading seed clusters. Growing with slender stems 15 to 45 centimeters tall, it forms loose, distinctive clumps with stiff, straight branches. Its leaves are primarily basal, with narrow blades 5 to 20 centimeters long, featuring three distinctive, hair-like awns extending 15 to 30 millimeters from each seed cluster. The plant's seed heads emerge in light brown, airy clusters that wave gracefully in desert and coastal breezes.

Habitat: dry slopes, plains, shrubland

Bloom period: Mar-Nov

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: SCo, SnBr, PR, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Tulare

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.