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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Arizona Cottontop

Digitaria californica
native · Hill Country

Arizona Cottontop is a grass native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 2–4 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms white in late summer. Good for birds.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources
Type
Grass
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
2–4 ft
Spread
2 ft
Bloom
Late Summer · white
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes clay · recorded on clay, dry, loam, sand, well drained
Wildlife
Supports birds

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau Woodland

56 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.