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A native ornamental warm-season bunchgrass in the Poaceae family. It has attractive reddish-purple seed heads that appear in the late summer and persist into fall and are especially impactful when planted en masse. It is a salt-tolerant grass and is often seen growing along roadside ditches. Its seed heads are oily, hence the common name grease grass, and are a food source for birds and mammals.

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Purple Top is a perennial warm-season grass that grows 3-5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It has a rich hue to its foliage as it develops each spring. Shortly after the foliage matures, the flower spikes develop as purple panicles that bloom from August to November. Deer resistance is high.

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This is a larval host plant that supports various skipper larvae and the Common Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) which has one brood from late May to October. Adult Common Wood-Nymph butterflies feed on rotting plant matter. This species is also the larval host of a number of butterflies and moths, including Polites origenes (Crossline Skipper), Pompeius verna (Little Glassywing), and Poanes viator (Broad-winged Skipper). The plant provides excellent cover year-round.

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Seasons of Interest:

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Bloom: Summer-Fall, August-October; Fruit/Seed/Nut: Fall/Winter

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Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems:

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Seasons of Interest:

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Bloom: Summer-Fall, August-October; Fruit/Seed/Nut: Fall/Winter

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Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems:

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Amazing Plants in North Carolina

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Amazing Plants in North Carolina

Tridens flavus

Common Names:

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Quick Facts

Distribution

Uses

Tridens flavus

Common Names:

Tags

Quick Facts

Distribution

Uses