Needle and Thread
Hesperostipa comata
Cool-season bunchgrass named for its long, twisting needle-like awns that shimmer in the light. An emblem of the northern mixed-grass prairie.
- Family
- Poaceae
- Type
- grass
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–3 ft
- Spacing
- 0.5–1 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- brown, white
- Wildlife value
- songbirds
- Landscape uses
- specimen, border, naturalizing
- Native states
- AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, RI, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY