Aristida purpurea var. purpurea

Purple three-awn

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Purple three-awn is a native perennial grass found in southern California coastal areas, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and Desert Mountains on dry slopes and shrublands at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to November, this grass produces purple-tinted inflorescences with delicate, thread-like branches that curve into distinctive S- or U-shaped arrangements. Growing with slender stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall, it develops graceful, arching culms that create an elegant, wispy appearance. Its leaf blades range from 3 to 17 centimeters long, with characteristic fine, thread-like awns extending 20 to 60 millimeters from each spikelet. The grass produces intricate spikelets with lower glumes 4 to 9 millimeters long and delicate, curving awns that give the plant its distinctive, airy texture.

Habitat: dry slopes, shrubland

Bloom period: Feb-Nov

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: SCo, SnBr, PR, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial

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