Native Plant Database

From the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Grass/Grass-like
Root Type: Fibrous
Leaf Retention: Semi-evergreen
Size Class: 0-1 ft.
Breeding System: Dioecious
Inflorescence: Spike
Fruit Type: Grain
Size Notes: 3 to 12 inches
Leaf Color: Gray-Green, Blue-Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Oct , Nov , Dec

Distribution

USA: AZ , AR , CO , GA , IL , IA , KS , LA , MN , MO , MT , NE , NV , NM , ND , OK , SD , TX , UT , VA , WI , WY
Canada: MB , SK
Native Distribution: Manitoba and Saskatchewan south through the central plains states of the US as far south as Puebla in Mexico. Mostly west of the 97th meridian and east of the Rocky Mountains and desert regions.
Native Habitat: Prairies, plains, meadows, pastures, savannahs. A dominant grass in shortgrass prairie, understory in taller prairie.
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low , Medium
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Well-drained loam, clay, caliche, or limestone. Does not like sand.
Conditions Comments: Requires only one and a half inches of rain per month to stay green. Will go dormant during droughts and in winter.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: A soft, fine-leaved, low-maintenace, drought-tolerant turf grass that can be mowed. Many cultivars have been selected for lawn use, almost entirely male strains so there wont be seedheads.
Use Wildlife: Foliage cured on the ground furnishes winter browse for mammals. Seeds and leaves are food and nesting material for birds.
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies
Larval Host: Green Skipper butterfly.

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Bouteloua dactyloides is a larval host and/or nectar source for:

Green Skipper (Hesperia viridis) Larval Host Learn more at BAMONA

Propagation

Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: Sow treated seed from April to September, preferably in clay loam. If on caliche, sow thickly. Keep moist until established. Seed requires light for germination. Old seed germinates better than young seed.
Seed Treatment: Seeds should be cold-moist stratified at 40 degrees for six weeks.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Buffalograss can be mowed once or twice per season to maintain height.

Find Seed or Plants

Order seed of this species from Native American Seed and help support the Wildflower Center.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Question: What native grass can I grow in deep East Texas that would require no supplemental watering and no mowing?
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Question: Our city has stopped watering our historic landscaped medians due to severe budget shortfalls. The medians were historically tree boulevards but have had curb and gutter and blue grass added over the years. Is there a native grass that we could use to overseed the bluegrass that would thrive with once a week deep watering for the trees in the medians? I heard a speaker from your center talk about experiments with different types of grasses at the National Public Gardens Association conference in St. Louis last year. NOTE that I live in Colorado Springs. Many thanks.
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Question: I recently bought a new house but the grass in the yard looked completely dead (bought house in Nov) even though the neighbor's grass was still green. The previous owner stopped watering the grass (even though he had a sprinkler system). Will the grass come back (St Augustine)? What can I do to help it. I can't afford to re-sod the whole yard. I live in Cedar Park. Thanks!
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I am having trouble with my lawn, specifically with the crabgrass in it. It now covers over 1/3 of it. I started using corn gluten meal this year, with limited tangible success. Corn gluten meal is a pre-emergent and sometimes hit-or-miss on when to apply it. Is there an environmentally responsible POST-emergent weed control product that I can apply to hit the crabgrass on multiple fronts? In the near future, I hope to transition/replace my exotic grass with native alternatives. Thank you.
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: Our buffalo grass is infected with a fungus called curvularia. How can we treat it?
click here to view the full question and answer

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
Patsy Glenn Refuge - Wimberley, TX

Bibliography

Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, S.
* Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Bouteloua dactyloides in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Bouteloua dactyloides in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Bouteloua dactyloides