Aristida  purpurea var. purpurea Nutt.
Purple Threeawn

Habit: 		Tufted perennial.
Culms: 		30-50 cm. tall, densely tufted, spreading, branched at the base and often above.
Blades: 	Involute, scabrous above, 10 cm. long or less, 1-1.5 mm. wide.
Sheaths: 	Mostly longer than the internodes, lower often very rough, villous at the throat.
Ligule: 	Pilose.
Inflorescence: 	Panicle nodding, narrow, loose, purplish, 10-20 cm. long, branches capillary, flexuous,
		naked at the base, bearing rather few slender-pediceled spikelets.
Spikelets: 	About 15 mm. long, 1-flowered, narrow.
Glumes: 	1-nerved, acuminate, bearing an awn 1-2 mm., this often between two slender irregular teeth,
		the first 6-8 mm. long, scabrous on the keel, the second about twice as long, glabrous.
Lemmas: 	9-10 cm., the pubescent callus less than 1 mm. long, the body tapering to a scarcely beaked
		summit, tuberculate-scabrous in lines from below the middle to the summit, triple awned,
		awns 3-5 cm. long, nearly equal, very slender, finally widely spreading.
Palea: 		Thin, included by the lemma.
Habitat: 	Dry hills and plains.  May-August.
Kansas Range:  Southwest Kansas and Riley county.
Synonyms:	Aristida purpurea Nutt. var. laxiflora Merr.
		Aristida roemeriana Scheele