• Image of Harpochloa falx|Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC|JLBG

    Photo by JLBG taken at Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC

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Harpochloa falx

African Caterpillar Grass

This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

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Item #: 1902

Zones: 7a to 9b, guessing

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 18" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: South Africa

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)


Harpochloa falx is a little-known but delightful tussock (tight clump-forming) grass from South Africa (moist parts of the Eastern Cape to Natal/Lesotho) that we fell in love with on our 2005 South African expedition. It took us a while to locate seed and conduct trials, but we are finally able to share. Our 7-year-old clumps of very fine, glaucous-green leaves are now 18" tall x 3' wide. Harpochloa falx clumps are adorned in early summer with wispy bouteloua-like seed heads which resemble caterpillars, hence the common name, caterpillar grass. We have seen no sign of seedlings in our climate.