Side-oats grama, also called tall grama, derives its common and 

 specific names from the peculiar arrangement of the many spikes, 

 commonly from 20 to 60, which hang pendent on one side of the 

 stem. It is an erect perennial with coarse fibrous roots, strong, 

 creeping rootstocks, wide flat leaves, and rather leafy stems from 

 1 to 4 feet high. Despite the presence of rootstocks its growth is 

 typically tufted like the bunchgrasses. 



This species is widely distributed from Connecticut and New 

 Jersey to Tennessee and Alabama, and from Montana and Utah to 

 California and Texas; also through Mexico south into South Amer- 

 ica. It occurs in Montana as a plains grass, growing usually in 

 scattered stands in mixture with other grasses although occasionally 

 occurring in some abundance on dry, rocky ridges. In the South- 

 west it is typically a grass of dry slopes, ridges, and rocky hillsides 

 at elevations from 3,000 to 8,000 feet. In Arizona it makes its best 

 growth on alluvial soils where it sometimes is rather abundant over 

 limited areas. 



Side-oats grama is a vigorous grower, produces a considerable 

 volume of leafage per plant, and is a valuable forage species where- 

 ever sufficiently abundant. It is generally considered of high pal- 

 atability while green and is consumed mainly during the growing 

 season. It is recognized as both a good winter and summer forage 

 although, as a winter feed, it is inferior to blue, black, or sprucetop 

 grama. However, it is a valuable grass when used in mixture with 

 these other gramas. The leaves are superior to the stems of the 

 plant in palatability to the extent that the latter sometimes remain 

 untouched even after all the leaves have been eaten. This species 

 differs from some other important grasses in that it produces de- 

 sirable green feed in the spring which is relished highly by livestock, 

 if and when satisfactory spring rains occur. 



The spikes of side-oats grama project from two sides of the flat- 

 tened, zigzag axis but the delicate stems attaching* the spikes often 

 twist and bend so that those sharp-pointed parts extend over on the 

 same side. When the flowers open, the showy, orange-red pollen 

 sacs (anthers) give a very distinctive appearance to the flower head. 



This species produces a fair amount of seed of rather low viability. 

 It is propagated in the main by underground rootstocks. Where 

 sufficiently abundant in the Southwest and Great Plains areas, it is 

 occasionally cut for hay. Because of its size, vigorous growth, 

 adaptability to varying growth conditions, and economic value, it 

 appears to be the most promising grama for domestication. 



