Lower sheaths longer than the internodes, usually glabrous, or occasionally
with appressed-pilose hairs; blades 1-3 mm wide, often curling. Glumes
unequal; lower glumes 6-10 mm, usually longer than the upper glumes;
upper glumes 5-8 mm; awns 15-25 mm, of equal thickness, straight
or only slightly contorted, divergent.
Aristida purpurascens var. purpurascens grows in waste places,
glades, fields, and pine savannahs in sandy or clay soils. Its range extends
into northern Mexico.