purpletop
Grass family (Poaceae)
overview
Tridens flavus is a tall, warm season bunchgrass. When planted in mass its purple spikelets will create a floating purplish haze for several weeks mid-summer.
The purple seed heads are covered with an oily substance inspiring another common name, Grease Grass.
wildlife value
This species is the larval host of a number of butterflies and moths, including Cercyonis pegala (Common Wood Nymph), Polites origenes (Crossline Skipper), Pompeius verna (Little Glassywing), and Poanes viator (Broad-winged Skipper). Seeds are eaten by birds.
Caterpillar Butterfly
maintenance
Easy to grow & self-seeds. It is attractive to browsing mammals, however, its ability to self-seed makes it easy to establish permanent colonies.
sources
Availability | Vendor | Website |
X | Earth Sangha (VA) | https://www.earthsangha.org/ |
Hill House Farm & Nursery (VA) | http://hillhousenativeplants.com/plant_list | |
Nature By Design (VA) | http://www.nature-by-design.com/plantlist2019.html | |
X | Chesapeake Natives, Inc. (Region) | http://chesapeakenatives.org/plant-list/ |