Blue Grama Grass Blue grama
grass is a warm season tufted perennial grass. It
is native to the short and tall grass prairies, and
makes up 75% to 90% of the grasses found there. The
prairies lie in central North America. Cold artic
air currents blow in from the polar regions in the
winter. Summers are hot and dry because the
prairies lie in the middle of the continent, and
don't get moisture from oceans. Blue grama
can grow up to 18 inches tall. It grows as a bunch
grass, forming open sod mats. As it matures and is
grazed on by animals, the bunches grow together and
form the thick sod. Blue grama is an important
prairie grass because its dense, shallow root mass
holds down the soil and keeps it from blowing away
like it did during the Dust Bowl Era in the 1930s.
Because the root system is shallow it can quickly
absorb any rain that might fall. When plowed under, or otherwise disturbed, it can take blue grama grass as long as 50 years to re-establish itself. On the prairies blue grama begins to grow late in the season, mid-April, when the soil is about 52° F (11° C). Blue grama goes dormant in the winter, and when there is a drought. Blue grama likes to grow in full sun with well-drained good soil, and can stand drought, heat, cold, and mowing. Although it doesn't like shade, it can grow in open piñon forests. People use it instead of regular grass where there are dry areas, for grazing animals, and to control erosion. Some people use the flowers in dried flower arrangements and the plant is also used in rock gardens. 2000.
bibliography: Loewer, Peter. (1995). Better Homes and Gardens Ornamental Grasses., Desmoine, Iowa: Meredith Books, Round Table Press, Inc. Loewer, Peter. (1988). Ornamental Grasses - Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Ed, Barbara B. Psch. Brooklyn, N.Y: Editorial Committee of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Inc. Weigel, Martene. (2000). Encyclopedia of Biomes. Gale Group. World Book Encyclopedia, ed., The Plant World. (2000). Chicago. Ill:World Book , Inc. "Grassland." http://www.Britannica.com/, pp. 24-25. "Bluestem Seed", http://www. bluestem.com/bluegrama.htm "Species: Bouteloua gracilis", http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/bougra/
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