Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Common name: buffalo grass, hierba búfalo, zacate búfalo

Family: Poaceae (Grass)

Synonym: Buchloe dactyloides

Distribution: Central and Western United States, Western Canada, Northern Mexico

Habitat: Prairies and plains

Hardiness: USDA Zone 3 (-40 to -30 °F)

Life form: Grasses

Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant

Growing Conditions: Buffalo grass is a dominant grass of short-grass prairies. It once was major forage for buffalo, and remains important for cattle and wildlife. In New Mexico, it grows in grama grasslands, and is most abundant in the eastern part of the state. It has become an important, low maintenance turf grass, and can provide erosion control on dry slopes. It is easily grown in average, dry to moderately moist, well-drained soil. It grows in full sun and is intolerant of shade. It is very heat and drought tolerant. It adapts to a wide range of soils, including alkaline soils. Buffalo grass does not grow well in areas with high rainfall, and should not be watered frequently. This grass may be established by seeds, sod or plugs. It spreads by stolons and may invade adjacent plantings.

Description: This clump-forming grass has erect stems and flat basal leaves, ¾-5 inches long, 0.04 – 0.10 inches wide, covered in long, white hairs. Buffalo grass is one of few dioecious grasses (male and female flowers on separate plants); however, a plant will occasionally have both male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers. The female plants are inconspicuous, with stems only 1 to a few inches tall and usually obscured by the leaves. At the tips of the stems are pairs of pistillate spikes with broad, scale-like awn-tipped bracts. Spikes have 3-5 spikelets, each with a single floret and purple, feathery styles. Male plants are usually 4 or 5 inches tall and easier to spot. Staminate flowers are raceme-like clusters of 1-3 branches at the ends of stems, each branch ¼-½ inch long with 6-12 spikelets arranged in 2 rows. Each spikelet has 2 florets with large, bright red-orange stamens.