Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

BLUE GRAMA

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Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Greenm.

Russell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6 - 20 inches

Family: Poaceae - Grass Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August

Culms:

Erect, slender, solid, glabrous, often bent abruptly below.

Blades:

Flat or rolled inward near tips, 1-7 inches long, very narrow, tapering, hairy or rough above, glabrous or slightly rough below.

Sheaths:

Shorter than internodes, glabrous or sparsely soft-hairy, particularly on margins near ligule.

Ligules:

Short fringe of hairs.

Inflorescences:

Panicles; branches 1-3, .5 to 1.5 inch long, often strongly curved; rachis not projecting beyond spikelet-bearing portion of branch.

Spikelets:

Numerous, 40-90 per branch, crowded, about 1/5 inch long, on short, minutely pubescent stalks; florets 1 per spikelet, perfect; glumes unequal; lemmas with 1-3 short awns.

Habitat:

Found on dry prairies, particularly in sandy or gravelly soils; not found on wet, poorly drained soils.

Distribution:

Throughout except southeast corner.

Reproduction:

Mat forming. Reproduces primarily via tillers.

Forage Value:

Palatable and nutritious for livestock but provides low forage productivity. Blue grama will withstand moderately heavy grazing.

Comments:

Blue grama does not tolerate shade. It will survive extreme drought, reviving quickly when suitable conditions return. As blue grama seed heads mature, they bend into an eyebrow-like curve.

Blue grama is quite similar to hairy grama but can be distinguished by the lack of the rachis projecting beyond the spikelet-bearing portion of the branch.

Blue grama