Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to central Canada and the central U.S.
Habitat: Desert plains, grasslands, and pondersoa pine forests.
Flowers: June-July
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Annual, Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Wind
Strongly tufted perennial, the stems 2-4 dm. tall.
Leaf blades involute, 1-2 mm. broad, 7-25 cm. long; ligules 0.5 mm long, the frontal margin with hairs 2-3 mm. long.
Inflorescence a narrow panicle 5-10 cm. long, the branches loosely ascending; glumes awn-tipped, the first 7-13 mm. long, the second nearly twice as long; floret 10-15 mm. long, the callus flattened, 1 mm. long; lemma convolute, with a trifid, terminal awn 5-8 cm. long, the lateral branches divergent; palea 2-2.5 mm. long, mush shorter than the lemma.
Utricle
Publication: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. ser. 2, 5: 145. 1835. 1835.
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var. longiseta – red threeawn
Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to central Canada and the central U.S.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Aristida purpurea in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Aristida purpurea checklist entry
OregonFlora: Aristida purpurea information
E-Flora BC: Aristida purpurea atlas page
CalPhotos: Aristida purpurea photos
