Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm., buffalograss 
DESCRIPTION 
Warm-season, stoloniferous perennial. 
Height: 4 to 6 inches. 
Leaf blade: 1/8 inch wide; 8 to 6 inches long; sometimes 
curls. 
Leaf sheath: Rounded ; smooth ; shorter than internodes. 
Ligule: Row of short hair. 
Seedhead: Spike; female flowers are in sessile heads or burs, 
partly hidden among the leaves ; male flowers are in 2 or 3 
short spikes on slender, erect stems. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Growth starts in late spring and continues through summer. 
Spreads rapidly by stolons and forms a dense sod. During grow- 
ing season, foliage is grayish green but turns light straw colored 
when plants mature. Growing points are close to the ground. 
DISTRIBUTION 
Throughout short-grass region of Great Plains. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Adapted best to loamy clay soils that get extra water from run- 
off. Dominant on sites intermittently wet and dry. Withstands 
submergence and prolonged summer droughts. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Buffalograss is used primarily for range grazing. It is also used 
for seeding grass waterways on farms and for seeding lawns and 
recreational areas. Natural stands yield as much as 100 pounds of 
seed per acre. Suction machines, brooms, or beater equipment 
must be used to harvest seed. 
Cattle and horses usually harvest no more than 50 percent of 
current year’s growth by weight because this grass grows so close 
to the ground. Continuous close grazing weakens plants and re- 
duces next season’s production. 
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