Family ²

Poaceae

Description ³

Purple needlegrass is a caespitose perennial native grass [23,36]. Culms are 24 to 39 inches (60-100 cm) tall, producing an open, nodding panicle 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) long [51]. Leaves are 0.031 to 0.14 inch (0.8-3.5 mm) wide [36]. The species expands vegetatively when tussocks are fragmented. Stands with fire and grazing exclusion are likely to be low density with larger individuals and more litter accumulation. With fragmenting disturbance, stands are higher density with smaller size tussocks and less litter accumulation, at least in the short . Bunches are roughly circular when undisturbed and more irregular with fragmenting disturbance\ Purple needlegrass is apparently long lived: 1 study found mortality of mature individuals was 2 to 6% annually over a 7-year period. Purple needlegrass is arbuscular mycorrhizal and has a rooting depth of at least 25 inches (64 cm) on deep soils.

Community ²

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Foothill Woodland

Flowering ²

Mar-May

Garden Location ²

U

Associated Species ²

Native bees nest underneath the tussocks

Sources and Credits

1. (c) mary, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42614915@N00/2455036295
2. (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
3. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24632718

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

iNat Map