Esparto grass grows wild across the semiarid rocky slopes of the western and central Mediterranean, where its gray-green, stiff linear leaves form clumps up to 3.5 feet tall in some of the most inhospitable soils imaginable. The Latin species name, tenacissima, very tenacious, describes both its physical toughness and its cultural resilience: the plant has been harvested for cordage, baskets, and fine paper for thousands of years, and is still being studied for medicinal applications. Upright flower spikes emerge on stiff stems in spring, adding movement without much color.

In the garden, esparto asks for rocky or sandy alkaline soil low in nutrients and full sun, conditions that are a poor match for most plants but exactly right for a dry garden or erosion-control slope. It is drought and salt tolerant once established. The plant is rarely available for sale in the United States, where gardeners in dry climates would be better served by comparable native grasses. It spreads by rhizomes and seed, and has shown some invasive potential in the American Southwest.