''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus was named for Claudio and

Esteban Boutelou Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend ...

, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths produced a 1912

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the genus.

Description

''Bouteloua'' includes both annual and perennial grasses, which frequently form

stolons In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

. Species have an inflorescence of 1 to 80

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s or spikes positioned alternately on the culm (stem). The rachis (stem) of the spike is flattened. The spikelets are positioned along one side of the spike. Each spikelet contains one fertile floret, and usually one sterile floret.

Distribution

''Bouteloua'' is found only the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, with most diversity centered in the southwestern United States.

Uses

Many species are important livestock forage, especially blue grama.

Species

Species of ''Bouteloua'' include:Gould, F. W. & R. Moran. 1981. The grasses of Baja California, Mexico. Memoir San Diego Society of Natural History 12: 1–140 * ''

Bouteloua alamosana ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...

'' Vasey – Mesoamerica * ''

Bouteloua americana ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...

'' (L.) Scribn. – American grama – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America * ''

Bouteloua annua ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...

'' Swallen –

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

* ''

Bouteloua aristidoides ''Bouteloua aristidoides'', the needle grama, is an annual desert grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bam ...

'' (Kunth) Griseb. – needle grama – United States ( California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Texas); Mexico, South America,

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

* '' Bouteloua barbata'' Lag. – six-weeks grama – United States, Mexico * '' Bouteloua bracteata'' (McVaugh) Columbus –

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

* ''

Bouteloua breviseta ''Bouteloua breviseta'' is a species of grass known by the common names gypsum grama and chino grama. Distribution It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, in New Mexico and Texas in the United States and Chihuahua on the northern Mexican Plateau ...

'' Vasey – United States, Mexico * '' Bouteloua chondrosioides'' (Kunth) Benth. ex S.Watson – sprucetop grama – United States ( AZ TX); Mesoamerica * ''

Bouteloua curtipendula ''Bouteloua curtipendula'', commonly known as sideoats grama, is a perennial, short prairie grass that is native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere, from Canada south to Argentina. The species epithet comes from Latin "sh ...

'' (Michx.) Torr. – sideoats grama – widespread in USA, Canada, Mexico * ''

Bouteloua dactyloides ''Bouteloua dactyloides'', commonly known as buffalograss or a buffalo grass, is a North American prairie grass native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a shortgrass found mainly on the High Plains and is co-dominant with blue gram ...

'' (

Nutt. Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an English botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle in the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

)

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

– buffalograss – USA, Canada, Mexico * ''

Bouteloua dimorpha ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths p ...

'' Columbus –

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

in USA, Canada, Mexico,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, Cuba, Trinidad * ''

Bouteloua distans ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths p ...

'' Swallen – Mexico * ''

Bouteloua disticha ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths p ...

'' (Kunth) Benth. – from southern Mexico to Ecuador; also Cuba, Galápagos * ''

Bouteloua eludens ''Bouteloua eludens'', colloquially known as Santa Rita grama or sometimes Santa Rita Mountain grama, is a grass species in the grama genus native to southern Arizona in the United States and northern Sonora in Mexico. Description Santa Rita gr ...

'' Griffiths – USA (Arizona, New Mexico), Mexico (

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

) * '' Bouteloua eriopoda'' (Torr.) Torr. – United States, Mexico * ''

Bouteloua gracilis ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season (C4 carbon fixation, C4) Perennial plant, perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky ...

'' (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths – blue grama –

in USA, Canada, Mexico * '' Bouteloua hirsuta'' Lag. – USA (Great Plains, Southwest), Mexico, Guatemala * '' Bouteloua johnstonii'' Swallen – Coahuila * '' Bouteloua juncea'' (Desv. ex Beauv.) A.S.Hitchc. – lamilla – Cuba,

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, Puerto Rico * '' Bouteloua media'' (E.Fourn.) Gould & Kapadia – from central Mexico to Uruguay * ''

Bouteloua megapotamica ''Bouteloua megapotamica'' is a species of grass in the genus ''Bouteloua'', family Poaceae. It has a disjunct distribution in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( e ...

'' (Spreng.) Kuntze – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

* '' Bouteloua mexicana'' (Scribn.) Columbus – Mexico, Belize,

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, Honduras * '' Bouteloua multifida'' (Griffiths) Columbus – from Sonora to Oaxaca * ''

Bouteloua nervata ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths p ...

'' Swallen – Hidalgo,

México State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

* '' Bouteloua parryi (E. Fourn.) Griffiths – Parry's Grama, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Mexico * '' Bouteloua pectinata'' (''Bouteloua hirsuta'' var. ''pectinata'') – tall grama, eyebrow grass – Texas * '' Bouteloua pedicellata'' Swallen –

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, Hidalgo,

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

, Tlaxcala,

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

, Veracruz * '' Bouteloua polymorpha'' (E.Fourn.) Columbus – from Durango to Oaxaca * '' Bouteloua purpurea'' Gould & Kapadia – Guanajuato, D.F.,

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

, México State, Hidalgo,

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

* ''

Bouteloua radicosa ''Bouteloua radicosa'', colloquially known as purple grama, is a grass species in the grama genus native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Description Purple grama is a perennial grass that grows to tall, with a dense r ...

'' (E. Fourn.) Griffiths – purple grama – USA (Arizona, New Mexico), Mexico (Chihuahua, Michoacán, Coahuila,

Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...

, Puebla, Durango, Zacatecas, Distrito Federal de México, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Tamaulipas) * '' Bouteloua reederorum'' Columbus – Durango, Puebla, Zacatecas, Oaxaca * '' Bouteloua reflexa'' Swallen – Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California,

, Nayarit * ''

Bouteloua repens ''Bouteloua repens'', colloquially known as slender grama, is a grass species in the grama genus native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Description Slender grama is a perennial grass that appears similar to '' Boutelo ...

'' (Kunth) Scribn. & Merr. – slender grama – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Mesoamerica,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Venezuela, West Indies * '' Bouteloua rigidiseta'' (Steud.) Hitchc. – Texas grama – New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mexico (

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

, Durango) * '' Bouteloua simplex'' Lag. Much of southwestern and central United States, Central America, western South America * ''

Bouteloua scabra ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths p ...

'' (Kunth) Columbus – from Hidalgo to Honduras * '' Bouteloua stolonifera'' Scribn. – San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas * ''

Bouteloua swallenii ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...

'' Columbus – from El Salvador to Venezuela * '' Bouteloua triaena'' (Trin. ex Spreng.) Scribn. – from Sinaloa to Guatemala * ''

Bouteloua trifida ''Bouteloua trifida'' is a species of grass known by the common name red grama. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, where it grows in desert scrub and other dry areas. This is a small perennial grass g ...

'' Thunb. – Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Mexico * '' Bouteloua uniflora'' Vasey – Nealley grama, oneflower grama – Utah, Texas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Nuevo León,

, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas * '' Bouteloua vaneedenii'' Pilg. – Cuba,

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, Venezuela * '' Bouteloua warnockii'' Gould & Kapadia – Warnock's grama – New Mexico, Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas * ''

Bouteloua williamsii ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Taxonomy and systematics The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th-century Spanish botanists. David Griffiths ...

'' Swallen – Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras File:Bouteloua barbata (4191996700).jpg, ''Bouteloua barbata'' (six-weeks grama) File:Bouteloua curtipendula (3797569342).jpg, ''Bouteloua curtipendula'' (sideoats grama) File:Bouteloua eriopoda HC-1950.png, ''Bouteloua eriopoda'' (black grama) File:Bouteloua gracilis2.jpg, ''Bouteloua gracilis'' (blue grama) File:Eutriana multiseta - Species graminum - Volume 3.jpg, ''Bouteloua megapotamica'' File:Bouteloua trifida HC-1950.jpg, ''Bouteloua trifida'' (red grama)

Formerly included

Some grass species, formerly classified under ''Bouteloua'', have been reclassified under other genera including: *'' Cathestecum'' *''

Chondrosum ''Chondrosum'' is a genus of North American and South American plants in the grass family. ''Chondrosum'' is closely related to ''Bouteloua'' and considered part of that genus in some publications. ; Species * '' Chondrosum barbatum'' (Lag.) Cl ...

'' *''

Neobouteloua ''Neobouteloua'' is a genus of Argentine and Chilean plants in the grass family. ; SpeciesZuloaga, F. O., E. G. Nicora, Z. E. Rúgolo de Agrasar, O. Morrone, J. F. Pensiero & A. M. Cialdella. 1994. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en la Repúblic ...

References

External links

*
Interactive Key to ''Bouteloua'' of North America
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2693100 Bunchgrasses of North America Bunchgrasses of South America Grasses of North America Grasses of South America Poaceae genera Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois Taxa named by Mariano Lagasca

Taxonomy and systematics

Description

Distribution

Uses

Species

Formerly included

See also

References

External links