Poaceae
Purple speargrass
Piptochaetium stipoides
- Family
- Poaceae
- Genus
- Piptochaetium
Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (1)
- English
- Purple speargrass
Synonyms
- Caryochloa stipoides (Trin. & Rupr.) Kuntze
- Oryzopsis grisebachii Speg.
- Oryzopsis stipoides (Trin. & Rupr.) Speg.
- Piptatherum stipoides Gilbert
- Piptochaetium chaetophorum Griseb.
- Piptochaetium cuspidatum Phil.
- Piptochaetium grisebachii (Speg.) Herter
- Piptochaetium ovatum f. atrata Hack.
- Piptochaetium ovatum var. chaetophora Hack.
- Piptochaetium ovatum var. chaetophorum (Griseb.) Hack.
- Piptochaetium ovatum var. purpurascens Hack.
- Piptochaetium pallidum Phil. ex Griseb.
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. chaetophorum (Griseb.) Parodi
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. echinulatum Parodi
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. parviflorum Parodi
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. purpurascens (Hack.) Parodi
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. stipoides
- Piptochaetium stipoides var. verruculosum (Mez) Parodi
- Piptochaetium verruculosum (Mez) Henrard
- Stipa chaetophora (Griseb.) Columbus & J.P.Sm.
- Stipa pallida (Phil. ex Griseb.) Kuntze
- Stipa verruculosa Mez
- Urachne stipoides Trin. & Rupr.
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Lower 48 states: introduced
Photos

Photo: Robert Steers/NPS, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Piptochaetium
- Florida speargrassPiptochaetium avenacioidesPoaceae
- Pinyon ricegrassPiptochaetium fimbriatumPoaceae
- Piptochaetium napostaensePoaceae
- Pringle's speargrassPiptochaetium pringleiPoaceae
- Piptochaetium bicolorPoaceae
- Bristly speargrassPiptochaetium fuscumPoaceae
- Piptochaetium hackeliiPoaceae
- Piptochaetium lasianthumPoaceae
- Piptochaetium leiopodumPoaceae
- Piptochaetium montevidensePoaceae
- Piptochaetium panicoidesPoaceae
- Piptochaetium ruprechtianumPoaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.