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Needle and thread

Hesperostipa comata

Also called Needle And Thread Grass, Needlegrass, Spear Grass, Sewing Needlegrass

Needle and thread
Photo: Charles Sauer, CC BY-SA 4.0

Needle and thread is a perennial bunchgrass native to western North America, from northern Canada to Mexico, and is grown mainly for rangeland and restoration. Its key feature is the long twisting awn on the seed, which drills the seed into the soil.

Family
Poaceae (Grass family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun
Water
Water new plantings until established, then rely on rainfall; it tolerates dry spells well.
Soil
Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; tolerates poor, dry soils.
Temperature
Very cold hardy, suited to northern North American climates; no protection needed in winter.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
N. America
Climate
temperate

About

Hesperostipa comata, commonly known as needle-and-thread grass, is a species of grass native to North America, especially the western third. It has a wide distribution spanning from northern Canada to Mexico.

Where it grows

This is a grass of many habitat types, from grassland to pine forest. Young shoots provide a favored food source for black-tailed prairie dogs and black-tailed jackrabbits, and the grass is a good early spring graze for livestock before it develops its long, sharp awn.

Other Hesperostipa plants

Porcupinegrass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hesperostipa comata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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