PURPLE THREEAWN
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| File Size: 186 KB |
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Aristida purpurea Nutt.
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| Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Perennial |
| Height: 6 to 30 inches tall |
| Family: Poaceae - Grass Family |
| Flowering Period: May, June, July, August |
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| Culms: | | Erect, tufted, 6 to 30 inches tall, glabrous, hollow. | | Blades: | | Mostly basal, rolled inward or flat, 1 to 12 inches long, less than 1/10 inch wide, straight to curved, rough above; tips sharp-pointed. | | Sheaths: | | Glabrous or slightly rough, collar often with tufts of long hairs on both sides. | | Ligules: | | Tiny fringed membranes. | | Inflorescences: | | Panicles, narrow, 1.5 to 12 inches long, loose, open or contracted, usually purplish or reddish, often nodding, branches stiff to zigzag. | | Spikelets: | | Stalked, 1-flowered; first glume about half as long as second glume; lemmas tipped with 3 nearly equal awns 1 to 3 inches long. | | Habitat: | | Hills, plains, disturbed sites, waste places and overgrazed areas, often in dry, sandy soils. | | Distribution: | | Principally in the west two-thirds of Kansas. | | Toxicity: | | The awns can cause eye, nose and mouth injuries in livestock. | | Forage Value: | | Purple threeawn provides poor forage value. | | Comments: | | Aristida purpurea is a highly variable species. There are several varieties in Kansas. | | | | Compare also with prairie threeawn and arrowfeather threeawn. |
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| Purple threeawn |  | | 161 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Purple threeawn awns |  | | 132 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Purple threeawn spikelets |  | | 70 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Purple threeawn glumes |  | | 60 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Purple threeawn collar |  | | 63 KB | | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| | Purple threeawn |  | | 167 KB | | Finney County, Kansas |
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