Buffalograss is a small warm-season ornamental grass in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to the central region of North America. The genus name Bouteloua comes from Spanish botanists Exteban and Claudius Boutelou, and the species epithet dactyloides is Latin for fingers. It is a stoloniferus grass and is a fast spreader. It forms a dense clump reaching a height of 8 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Plant this grass in the full sun in dry to moist soils with good drainage. It will not tolerate shade or high traffic. The leaves are blue-green to gray-green and curly. This grass can also be mowed to a height of 2" tall and used as a lawn alternative surviving the heat and drought of southern summers. When this grass goes dormant from mid-fall to mid-spring it will turn straw-colored but it will green back up quickly in the spring. This grass can be seeded or plugs or sod may be used. Use this grass as a low-maintenance lawn alternative for lawns, in parks, commercial plantings, or golf courses. It can provide erosion control on dry sunny sloped areas. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Leaf spot, brown patch or summer patch may occur. Spread of the plant by stolons into other planting areas can be problematic. It is easily overwhelmed by better adapted warm-season turfgrasses when planted in a mixture. Due to its open canopy, weed encroachment may be problematic. Very few pesticides are labeled for use with this species.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry | Very Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 8 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Curly fine leaves
Flower color
Green
Flower form
Insignificant
Flower detail
June to August green flowers not very significant. Female flowers are on short stems in clusters and male flowers are on long slender stems in combed spikes.
Bloom time
Summer
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Central North America
Landscape Use
Landscape theme
Drought Tolerant Garden
Garden tags
#lawn alternative full sun #warm-season grass #lawn alternative #heat tolerant #naturalizes #low maintenance #drought tolerant #humidity tolerant #erosion control #fast growing