Bouteloua curtipendula on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''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 botanical name, species epithet comes from Latin "shortened" and "hanging".
Sideoats grama is a warm-season grass. The culm (botany), culms (flowering stems) are tall, and have alternate leaf, alternate leaves that are concentrated at the bottom of the culm. The leaves are light green to blue-green in color, and up to across.
The flowers bloom in summer and autumn. They consist of compact spike (botany), spikes that hang alternately in a raceme along the top of the culm. The spikes often fall to one side of the stem, which gives the plant its name. There are 10–50 spikes per culm, and in each spike there are three to six spikelets, or rarely as many as 10. Each spikelet is long and consists of two glumes and two florets. One of the florets is fertile, and has colorful orange to brownish red anthers and feathery white stigmas during the blooming period, which contrasts with the pale green, pale red, greenish-red, or purple color of the spikes themselves.
After blooming, the spikes become straw-colored. The fertile florets produce seeds, and when they are ripe, the spikes fall to the ground.
Description
Sideoats grama is a warm-season grass. The culm (botany), culms (flowering stems) are tall, and have alternate leaf, alternate leaves that are concentrated at the bottom of the culm. The leaves are light green to blue-green in color, and up to across.
The flowers bloom in summer and autumn. They consist of compact spike (botany), spikes that hang alternately in a raceme along the top of the culm. The spikes often fall to one side of the stem, which gives the plant its name. There are 10–50 spikes per culm, and in each spike there are three to six spikelets, or rarely as many as 10. Each spikelet is long and consists of two glumes and two florets. One of the florets is fertile, and has colorful orange to brownish red anthers and feathery white stigmas during the blooming period, which contrasts with the pale green, pale red, greenish-red, or purple color of the spikes themselves.
After blooming, the spikes become straw-colored. The fertile florets produce seeds, and when they are ripe, the spikes fall to the ground.
Distribution and habitat
Sideoats grama grows well on mountainous plateaus, rocky slopes, and sandy plains. It is drought- and cold-tolerant and is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 4–9 (average annual minimums of ).Ecology
It provides larval food for the veined ctenucha (''Ctenucha venosa'').Conservation
It is currently listed as a threatened species in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is considered as an endangered species in Connecticut.Uses
Sideoats grama is considered a good foraging grass for livestock. It is planted for erosion control.Cultivation
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for native plant and xeriscape, drought-tolerant gardens.Culture
Sideoats grama is the List of U.S. state grasses, state grass of Texas.References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4950436 Bouteloua, curtipendula Grasses of North America Grasses of South America Grasses of Argentina Grasses of Mexico Grasses of the United States Native grasses of the Great Plains region Flora of the United States Flora of Central America Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Symbols of Texas Taxa named by Mariano Lagasca Garden plants of North America Garden plants of South America Drought-tolerant plants Warm-season grasses of North America