|
Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Tridens flavus
Purpletop is an attractive native grass with a reddish purple tinge on the flowers and seeds that is unusual for grasses. The drooping purple tufts make a grand statement from summer to fall. As a colonizer of disturbed areas, this plant and other native grasses are ecologically important for mediating erosion and softening up the soil by penetrating it with its tough, deep, fibrous roots. It spreads via its rhizomes and seeds widely via the wind, and therefore is best suited for large-scale naturalizations in open woods or fields.
Other companions for this excellent grass include Broomsedge, Ironweed, Purple Verbena, and virtually any tall, upright prairie perennial flowering plant or grass. It is tolerant of drought and requires no irrigation or fertilizer. This common grass is easily spotted along roadsides (where it readily naturalizes) because of its unusual and striking color.
Poaceae (Grass)
An upright perennial grass that colonizes by sprouting from fast-growing rhizomes. The blades of the alternate leaves are up to 12" long and ½" across; they are linear, medium green, and flat. Leaf venation is parallel, while the upper surface and margins of the leaf blade are scabrous. The stem terminates in a panicle of spikelets which becomes wide, heavy, and drooping with thin and wiry, widely spaced branches. Spikelets are a deep purple and then turn brown. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall and lasts about 2-3 weeks.
2 to 4 feet tall
Tall, upright, colonizing perennial grass
Very fast
Full to partial sun
Purpletop thrives in virtually any type of soil and moisture level as long as it is well-drained and given adequate sun. It requires no supplemental irrigation or fertilizer.
The asset of Purpletop is its unusual color. Broad expanses of it cap meadows and fields with a purple tinge. It is especially pretty when planted in tandem with the silvery wafting tops of Broomsedge and carefree native field wildflowers like Ironweed.
Purpletop is an excellent and colorful grass species to add to a natural acreage. It is generally ineffective as a specimen and even in clumps, requiring large-scale plantings to truly shine. It works well to colonize areas that have been disturbed, establishes quickly, and mediates erosion.
Common across North America from New England south to Florida and west to Mexico. It grows in open forests, old fields, dry to moist savannas, woodland borders, meadows in wooded areas, powerline clearances in wooded areas, limestone glades, fields, and abandoned railroads. It is a rapid colonizer of disturbed areas.
The caterpillars of several skippers feed on Purpletop, including
Leonard's Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Crossline Skipper, Little Glassywing, and the Common Wood Nymph. Among mammals, the foliage is eaten by Deer Mice and Prairie Voles. It provides significant cover and nesting material for wildlife. The seeds are occasionally eaten by Wild Turkey and Northern Bobwhite Quail.
Seeds, division of mature clumps
Also known as Redtop,
Sandgrass
Text by Kevin Tarner, Georgia Wildlife Federation
|
