Plant of the Week

Porcupine grass
Stipa spartea Trin.
scientific name, 2008: Hesperostipa spartea (Trin.) Barkworth
other common names: needle-and-thread, needle grass (also applied to other species)
Stipa: from Greek stype for “tow,” referring to the awns, which somewhat resemble the fibers of jute or flax when they are ready for spinning
Spartea: from Latin, meaning “broomlike”
Grass family: Poaceae (Gramineae)





Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition