Side-Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)

Side-Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)

Bouteloua curtipendula, is the scientific name for this dynamic grass more commonly known as Side-Oats Grama.

It is a perennial, short prairie grass that is native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere, from Canada south to Argentina.

Side-Oats Grama is a warm-season grass. The culms (flowering stems) 12–39 inches tall, and have alternate leaves that are concentrated at the bottom of the culm. The leaves are light green to blue-green in color, and up to 1⁄4 inch across.

The flowers of this grass bloom in summer and autumn. They consist of compact spikes that hang alternately in a raceme along the top 6 to 10 inches of the culm. The spikes often fall to one side of the stem, which gives the plant its name. There are roughly 10–50 spikes per culm, and in each spike there are three to six spikelets, or more rarely as many as 10! Each spikelet is between 3⁄16 to 13⁄32 inches 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.

Side-Oats Grama grows well on mountainous plateaus, rocky slopes, and in sandy plains. It is very drought- and cold-tolerant while being hardy in USDA Zones 3-9 (average annual minimums of -30 to 25 °F).

This grass plays host to the native Veined Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha venosa)!

This grass is an excellent choice for slopes in need of erosion control!

Side-Oats Grama is currently listed as a threatened species in the state of Michigan and is considered as an endangered species in Connecticut, and is the state grass of Texas

It is also listed as present but rare in several counties of the states of New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida.

Plant Details

USDA Zones: 3-9

Germination Needs: Needs no special treatment.

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Full to Partial

Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry

Plant Spacing: 1-2 feet

Height: 2 feet

Bloom time: August, September

Bloom Color: Red

Advantages :

Bird Favorite: seeds, insects, fruit, nectar, nesting, perchs.

Deer Resistant: Yes

Excellent in the home landscape

Native to: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Connecticut, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.

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Packet quantities:

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All of our native seed is hand reared, hand picked, and hand packed from native prairies under our exclusive management, never breaking chain of custody from the field until it is sent to you. Each packet is hand prepared for shipment by us, directly.

Small seed species will contain greater than 20-25 seed

Large seed species will contain greater than 10-15 seed

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