About

Stipa barbata, commonly known as the bearded feather grass or silver feather grass, is a species of perennial grass native to southern Europe, North Africa, and the Levant in the Mediterranean Basin, and temperate Asia. It is valued for its elegant, feathery awns that create a shimmering effect in the wind. The plant typically grows to 60–90 cm in height and thrives in well-drained soils in full sun, making it popular for borders, gravel gardens, and naturalistic planting schemes.

How to grow it

Stipa barbata is valued as an ornamental grass in Mediterranean-style and xeriscape gardens due to its elegant, feathery awns that create a distinctive, shimmering effect in the wind. It is typically grown in well-drained soils with full sun exposure and is highly tolerant of drought once established, making it suitable for low-maintenance landscapes in arid and semi-arid regions.

Propagation is usually by seed, which should be sown in spring in a light, sandy substrate. The species prefers calcareous soils and does not tolerate waterlogging. In garden settings, it is often combined with other drought-tolerant perennials and grasses to create naturalistic plantings.

Where it grows

Stipa barbata is native to the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions of western Asia, with a range extending from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa eastward through the Levant, the Caucasus, and into parts of Central Asia and Iran. It inhabits semi‑arid grasslands, rocky slopes, and montane steppe environments, often forming communities with other drought‑adapted grasses.

Other Stipa plants

Piptochaetium avenaceum · Stipa bavarica · Stipa borysthenica · Dwarf Feather Grass · Stipa dregeana · Stipa leptogluma · Needle Grass · Stipa milleana · European feather grass · Stipa petriei · Golden Feather Grass · Horsetail Feather Grass