Purple Needlegrass
Stipa pulchra · Poaceae
- Form
- Grass
- Height
- 1–3 ft
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Water
- Very Low
- Habitat
- Grassland
🌿 California native
Quick facts
- Habitat: Grassland, open slopes, oak savanna
- Form / size: Bunchgrass, 1–3 ft
- Sun: Full sun · Water (established): Very low
- Status: California’s official state grass
Description
A graceful native bunchgrass and the state grass of California. It forms a tidy clump and sends up airy flowering stems carrying seeds with long, bent awns that take on a purple cast before drying golden. Once dominant across California’s grasslands (now largely displaced by invasive annual grasses), with very deep roots that let it survive drought and outlast disturbance.
Habitat & range
Native grasslands, open slopes, and oak savanna; a remnant of the bunchgrass prairie that once covered much of the state.
In the garden
A fine-textured, deep-rooted grass for meadows, slopes, and restoration. Full sun, very low water; cut back in summer dormancy. Reseeds modestly.
Propagation
From seed (sow in fall) and by division.
Where to see it near you
Problems
Trouble-free; the awned seeds can catch in pet fur/socks.
