Plant Wiki

The open plant encyclopedia

Know any plant.
Grow it well.

Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.

  • 13,000+plants with full pages
  • 365,000+plant species worldwide
  • 220+countries covered

Common in

See all

The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.

What do you want to do?

Popular plants

Browse all plants

See them in 3D

All plants in 3D

Browse plants

Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.

Plant Wiki › Browse plants

Needlegrass

Nassella

Also called Needle Grasses, Tussockgrass, Tussockgrasses

Needlegrass
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0

Nassella (needlegrass) is a genus of over 100 perennial bunchgrasses native from North America through South America, many of which are grown in drought-prone, open landscapes. Grow them in full sun with sharp drainage and little water once established.

Family
Poaceae (Grass family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently while establishing, then rely mostly on rain; avoid wet soil.
Soil
Poor to moderate, well-drained soil; sandy or gravelly mixes suit them well.
Temperature
Hardy in many temperate climates; protect young plants from prolonged frost and waterlogging.
How easy
Easy

About

Nassella, or needlegrass, is a New World genus of over 100 perennial bunchgrasses found from North America through South America. The Latin word nassa refers to "a basket with a narrow neck". It is usually considered segregate from the genus Stipa and includes many New World species formerly classified in that genus. As of 2011, The Jepson Manual includes Nassella within Stipa.

Nasella is characterized by strongly overlapping lemma margins and reduced, veinless paleae. The lemma tips are fused into the "crown", a short membrane that surrounds the base of the lemma. The rim of the crown usually has hairs.

Other Nassella plants

Nodding needlegrass · Lobed Needle Grass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nassella 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.

Credits & terms

Identify a plant

Point at a leaf or flower and snap. One plant in frame works best.

Your photo
Starting camera…