hairy grama |
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Bouteloua hirsuta var. hirsuta |
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| Taxonomy | Family: |
Poaceae (grass) |
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No Rank: |
PACMAD clade |
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Subfamily: |
Chloridoideae |
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Tribe: |
Cynodonteae |
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Subtribe: |
Boutelouinae |
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| Nativity | Native |
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| Status |
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| Habitat | Dry, open prairies. Sandy soils. |
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| Flowering | June to August |
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| Height | |
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| Identification | This plant grows in tufts but does not form large stands. The culms reach 10 to 20 inches at maturity. The leaves are mostly basal. The lower margin of the blade has soft hairs arising from tiny bumps. The inflorescence is 1 to 4 flowering, comb-like spikes. The needle-like main axis (rachis) of the flowering spike extends conspicuously beyond the spikelet-bearing portion forming a stiff bristle. The spike is parallel to the ground when flowering, but gradually curves backward becoming upright as the seeds mature. The upper glume is densely hairy along the midvein. |
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| Similar Species |
Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) spike rachis does not extend beyond the uppermost spikelet. The upper glume is sparsely, not densely, hairy along the midvein. Buffalo grass (Buchloë dactyloides) has much shorter spikes with 6 to 12 spikelets arranged in two rows. |
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| Range |  |
Sources: 2, 3, 5, 7. | |||||
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| Synonyms | Atheropogon hirtus Atheropogon papillosus Bouteloua aschenborniana Bouteloua foenea Bouteloua hirta Bouteloua pappilosa Chondrosium hirtum Chondrosum hirsutum var. hirsutum Chondrosum papillosum |
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| Common Names |
black grama buffalo grass hairy grama |
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