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| Buffalo grass | |
|---|---|
| Name | Buffalo grass |
| Genus | Bouteloua |
| Species | dactyloides |
| Family | Poaceae |
| Authority | (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray |
Buffalo grass is a warm-season perennial turfgrass native to the North American Great Plains and widely used in United States prairie restoration, low-input lawns, and grazing systems. It is valued for drought tolerance, low mowing requirements, and resilience on prairie soils, and is central to conversations among ecologists at institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and land managers from the United States Department of Agriculture. Research on its genetics and breeding involves collaborations with universities like Kansas State University and Texas A&M University.
Bouteloua dactyloides belongs to the family Poaceae and the subfamily Chloridoideae; historical treatments appeared in works by botanists such as Thomas Nuttall and Asa Gray. Synonymy and nomenclatural changes have been discussed in floras produced by the Missouri Botanical Garden and the New York Botanical Garden. Common names vary regionally and have been recorded in surveys by the United States Geological Survey and the Royal Horticultural Society. Taxonomic revisions reference type specimens housed at herbaria like the Kew Gardens Herbarium and the Harvard University Herbaria.
The grass forms a sod of stoloniferous and sometimes rhizomatous growth; descriptions appear in manuals used by the United States Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Leaves are typically blue-green and flat, described in floristic treatments from the Field Museum and the New York Botanical Garden. Inflorescences are small unilateral spikes with spikelets borne on one side, a character noted in keys used at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and cited in monographs from the Missouri Botanical Garden. Morphological variation among ecotypes is documented in studies from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Colorado.
Native distribution spans the central North American Great Plains, from regions adjacent to the Canadian Prairies through the Texas Panhandle and into parts of New Mexico and Arizona; range maps are included in publications by the United States Geological Survey and the Nature Conservancy. It occupies mixed-grass and shortgrass prairie, steppe, and disturbed sites surveyed by researchers at the University of Kansas and the University of Oklahoma. Introduced or naturalized populations occur in parts of Australia, South Africa, and Argentina following trials by agricultural agencies such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Australia).
Buffalo grass contributes to prairie ecosystem functions studied by ecologists at the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project and the Konza Prairie Biological Station. It stabilizes soil and affects fire regimes noted in reports by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service for sites like Badlands National Park and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Its role in carbon sequestration and soil organic matter dynamics has been quantified in collaborations between the Environmental Protection Agency and university carbon cycle programs at Iowa State University and Oklahoma State University. Interactions with native fauna, including grazing by bison historically documented at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and contemporary grazing systems studied at the National Grazing Lands Research Laboratory, influence community composition and successional trajectories.
Cultivation for turf and forage is promoted by extension services at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Colorado State University Extension. It is used in low-input lawn programs advocated by municipal initiatives in cities such as Denver, Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis. Restoration practitioners from organizations like the The Nature Conservancy and the National Wildlife Federation employ it in prairie reconstructions and grassland restoration projects. Research into irrigation reduction and water policy implications has been cited in municipal planning documents of the City of Phoenix and regional water authorities including the Colorado River Water Conservation District.
Pest and disease issues are documented by plant clinics at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and diagnostic labs at Iowa State University. Common problems include fungal pathogens reported in surveys by the American Phytopathological Society and insect herbivores monitored by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Management recommendations appear in guidance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and turf management curricula at Penn State Extension and Oregon State University Extension Service, emphasizing integrated pest management and tolerant cultivar selection.
Breeding efforts for improved turf traits, cold tolerance, and reduced fertility have been led by programs at Kansas State University, Texas A&M University, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Cultivars developed for sod production and seed release are registered with agencies such as the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies and marketed by commercial firms collaborating with research stations like the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Genetic studies using molecular markers and genome resources are undertaken by teams at the University of California, Davis and Clemson University to accelerate cultivar development and conservation of diverse ecotypes.
Category:Poaceae Category:Grasses of North America