Stipa ichu

Stipa ichu, also known as Jarava ichu, is a wild grass native to the Andean Altiplano, a high arid plateau battered by winds. It forms a fine and flexible tuft, graceful in the wind, which resembles silvery hair when its flowers fade at the end of summer. Its plume-like inflorescences appear in summer, reaching over 90 cm (35in) at the end of arched stems. This spectacular, not very hardy but highly drought-resistant grass needs poor and well-drained soil and full sun. It is happy in exposed locations and poor soil, ideal in a dry, wild, or contemporary garden.

Jarava ichu, locally known as ichu, paja brava, or paja ichu, is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Poaceae family, like many grasses. The Andes Mountains are the birthplace of this beautiful grass, where it is widespread from Mexico to Peru and used as fodder to feed llamas. This plant has a thick crown with tufts of linear, rough, light green leaves with curled edges which turn yellow in autumn. When mature, it will measure 90 cm (35in) to 1.20 m (4ft) in height when flowering, 60 cm (24in) for the semi-evergreen foliage. In July, thin, soft and silky, white inflorescences appear, becoming silvery in September-October and carried by arched stems. The seeds form at the end of summer and are dispersed by the wind, ensuring the species' perenniality.

Hardy down to -10/-12°C (14/10.4°F) in very well-drained soil, Jarava ichu is a perfect plant for dry gardens and poor and stony soil. This grass has extremely light, hairy tufts and is decorative for a good part of the year. It will go with light, flowering perennials like linarias, penstemons, field daisies, Aster cordifolius and scabious, and annuals like poppies and love-in-a-mist. The dark foliage of Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Tom Thumb' and Cotinus 'Royal Purple' will enhance its light-catching plumes. Plant Jarava ichu in a group on a large dry slope, along a gravelled path, on the edge of a terrace, or in a large pot.