(Redirected from Buffalograss)
'Buffalograss', or 'buffalo grass', (''Buchloe dactyloides'') is a native
North American prairie grass. A shortgrass found mainly on the high plains, it is a valuable fodder.
Buffalo grass is distributed from central
Montana east to
Minnesota and south to eastern coastal
Louisiana,
Texas,
New Mexico, eastern
Arizona, and northern
Mexico. It is incidental in northern
Idaho and
Virginia.
Buffalo grass is codominant with
Blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') over most of the shortgrass prairie.
Buffalo grass is a warm-season, native
perennial shortgrass. It is drought-, heat-, and cold-resistant. Foliage is usually 2 to 5 inches (5-13 cm) high, though in the southern
Great Plains foliage may reach 12 inches (30 cm). Buffalo grass is usually
dioecious.
Plants are occasionally
monoecious, sometimes with perfect flowers. Flowerstalks are 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) tall.
The male inflorescense is a panicle; the female inflorescense consists of short spikelets borne in burlike clusters, usually with two to four spikelets per bur.
Buffalo grass sends out numerous, branching
stolons; occasionally it also produces
rhizomes. Roots are also numerous and thoroughly occupy the soil. The numerous stolons and roots form a dense sod. Buffalo grass roots are finer than those of most plains grasses, being less than 1 mm in diameter.
References
★
Buchloe dactyloides at U.S. Dept of Agriculture
★
Turf-Type Buchloe dactyloides at Native Turf Group (non-profit)
★
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service