Aristida purpurascens

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Aristida purpurascens
Aristida purpurascens AFP.jpg
Photo by the Atlas of Florida Plants Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Moncots
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Aristida
Species: A. purpurascens
Binomial name
Aristida purpurascens
Poiret
ARIS PURP DIST.JPG
Natural range of Aristida purpurascens from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Name(s): arrowfeather,[1] arrowfeather threeawn[2]

Taxonomic Notes

Varieties: A. purpurascens var. purpurascens; A. purpurascens var. tenuispica; A. purpurascens var. virgata[2]

Description

A. purpurascens is a monoecious perennial graminoid.[2] In the sandhills, it can be found in a green or strongly glaucous-blue form.[1]

Distribution

Aristida purpurascens is found from Massachusetts west to Wisconsin and Kansas and southward to Florida and Texas.[1] It may also be found in parts of Nebraska and Ontario, Canada.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

This species is found in dry habitats, especially those containing sandy or rocky soils.[1]

Use by animals

Seeds from this grass compose 2-5% of the diet of some terrestrial birds.[2] A study in Michigan showed the seeds of A. purpurascens was also abundant in the caches of prairie deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii).[3]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Weakley A. S.(2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 USDA, NRCS. (2016). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 14 December 2017). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. Howard W. E. and Evans F. C. (1961). Seeds stored by prairie deer mice. Journal of Mammalogy 42(2):260-263.