ARISTIDA purpurea. Purple three-awn. Southwestern U.S. This is one of several southwestern grasses we have been observing for both aesthetic features and adaptability to coastal conditions. It is one of my personal favorites of the group on both counts. It grows about 1’ high, with slender, wispy stems and narrow blue-green leaves, often tinged with purple. In summer it carries many graceful panicles of slender purplish spikelets. Protruding from each flower are three thread-like awns. Fall color can also be quite beautiful; though sometimes (for reasons not altogether clear to me) the plants simply dry to a pale tan. The one bad habit of this plant is the tendency of the sharp, barbed seeds to attach themselves to clothes and fur, like foxtails. Sun, reasonably well drained soil, moderate to occasional watering. Hardy to around 0^oF.