Figure 1: Buffalograss
Riley country, Kansas
Figure 2: Buffalograss distribution
The figure shows where buffalograss grow wild
Figure 3: Buchloe dactyloides
Picture by Marcus, Joseph A.
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DescriptionBuchloe dactyloides is mainly known as Baffalograss or buffalo grass. It is a turfgrass species with reduced irrigation and fertilization requirements relative to traditional turfgrasses. Baffalograss is a native of North America prairie grass which is found mainly on the high plains.
IdentificationBuffalo grass grows 2 to 5 inches tall and spreads out between 3 to 4 m. It has a round hollow stem with curly leaves. Buffalo grass sends out numerous, branching stolons; occasionally it produces rhizomes. It has numerous roots and occupies a larger range of the soil. Buffalograss roots are finer than those of most plains grasses, being less than 1 mm in diameter. Buffalo grass has both male and female plants with the male plant having a flag-type pollen head above the stem. The female plant produces the seed toward the base of the plant.
ClimateBuffalo grasses are warm season, and native perennial short grass. It is a drought heat and cold resistant short grass. Its colors changes to green in early spring and to a golden color during fall. It becomes dormant on the first frost, turn a buff color until it breaks dormancy in the spring. Buffalo grass requires six-to-eight hours of sunlight and it does particularly well on hot, droughty sites where bluegrass dies out. Buffalo grass requires sunlight and well-drained soil and often is used for erosion control. Buffalo grass is well suited for sites with 10 to 25 inches of annual precipitation and it is not adapted to shaded sites.
DistributionBuchloe dactyloides is distributed from central Montana east to Minnesota and south to be incidental in northern Idaho and Virginia. Buffalograss occurs naturally and grows best on clay loam to clay soils. It has a low fertility requirement and it often will maintain good density without supplemental fertilization. |