Common Name: purpletop, greasegrass, tall redtopScientific Name: Tridens flavus (L.) A.S. Hitchc., Triodia flava, Triodia flavusFamily Name: Poaceae (Graminae) - Grass FamilyIdentification NotesLife Cycleintroduced perennial, reproducing by seed and short thick, rhizomes Culmsupright, smooth, round but flattened below, tuft forming Leavesblades flat, long, tapering to narrow point, smooth, white midrib prominent, rough margins, distinct line perpendicular to midrib on underside, underside glossy, rolled in bud; auricles absent; ligule ring of hairs, very short; sheaths flattened or keeled Seedheadspanicle, terminal, open, often drooping when mature, oval to pyramidal, purple to dark purple sometimes almost black, usually covered with an oily or grease-like substance