Aristida stricta

Aristida stricta

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Aristida
Species:
A. stricta
Binomial name
Aristida stricta

Aristida stricta, known as wiregrass or pineland three-awn grass, is a warm-season grass native to North America. The species dominates understory vegetation in sandhills and flatwoods coastal plain ecosystems of the Carolinas in the Southeastern United States. Its appearance is characterized by villous bristles (indument) on each side of its midrib and on the back of the involute leaf blade.

Aristida stricta ranges in size, but can reach a width of 15 centimeters at the base. The species' leaves are approximately 0.5 meters in length, with two to three leaves per tiller. The seeds of A. stricta are approximately 4.5 millimeters in length and 0.4 millimeters in width; a translucent brown in color.