General: Desert Needlegrass (Pappostipa speciosa) is the common, tall, upright grass that grows in individual clumps (a bunchgrass) in the deserts around Las Vegas. The flowering stalks bear flowers that tend to remain tight against the stalk. When the seeds are ripe, the awns are about 2 inches long and bent in the middle at about 90-degree. The lower end of the awn is densely hairy, but the far end is hairless. 

Desert Needlegrass is a common component of vegetation associations in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) and higher life zones.

Family: Grass (Poaceae).

Other Names: Stipa speciosa, Pappostipa speciosa, Achnatherum speciosum.

Plant Form: Perennial grass. Grows in bunches. The flowering stalks bear flowers that tend to remain tight against the stalk.

Height: About 3 feet.

Seeds: When the seeds are ripe, the awns are about 2 inches long and bent in the middle at about 90-degree. The lower end of the awn is densely hairy, but the far end is hairless.