Purple Threeawn
Aristida purpureanative · Hill Countrysold locally
Purple Threeawn is a grass native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 1–2 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water. Blooms purple in Apr–Oct. Deer rarely browse it. Good for butterflies.
Will it grow in your yard?
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The facts
6 sources- Type
- Grass
- Sun
- Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 1–2 ft
- Spread
- 2 ft
- Bloom
- Apr–Oct · purple
- Foliage
- Deciduous or dies back in winter
- Soil
- Recorded on sand, rocky, dry
- Deer
- High — deer rarely browse it
- Wildlife
- Supports butterflies
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie
900 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:
2.5 and 4 inch pots
From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.
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.