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Bouteloua gracilis

Common name:	Blue Grama	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	(Willd. ex Kunth.)Lag. ex Griffiths.	Botanical references:	200, 236
Synonyms:	Bouteloua oligostachya (Torr. ex A.Gray.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Southern N. America - Wisconsin to North Dakota, south to Arizona and Mexico.
Habitat:	Deserts and prairies[216, 235].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Atheropogon oligostachyus[G] B. gracilis var. stricta[B,P] Chondrosum gracile[B,G,P] Chondrosum oligostachyum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Blue Grama [FEIS,B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	gracilis = thin, slender
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Seed - raw or cooked[257]. It can be ground into a powder, mixed with water and eaten as a mush, often with corn meal[257]. It is also used to make bread[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Salve Women's complaints.

The chewed roots have been applied to cuts[257].
A decoction of the whole plant has been used as a post-partum medicine[257].

Other Uses

Basketry Broom Brush.

The grass is sometimes used in the fill of coiled basketry[216, 257].
The stems can be used as a comb and broom material[257]. The blades can be bundled by a cord and the stiff end used as a hair comb whilst the other end can be used as a broom[257].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in full sun on any well-drained garden soil[200]. Prefers a near-neutral or lime-free soil[200].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200].
All members of this genus use the method of photosynthesis knwn as C4. This allows for the more effective capture of carbon dioxide and thus less water loss through transpiration since the stomata do not have to be open for transpiration. This is an advantage in the arid environments where these plants are usually found[274].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Only just cover the seed. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on for at least the first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in early summer.
Division.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Bouteloua oligostachya (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[216] Whiting. A. F. Ethnobotany of the Hopi North Arizona Society of Science and Art 1939
A very good guide the the plant uses of the N. American Hopi Indians.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[236] Hitchcock. A. S. Manual of the Grasses of the United States Dover Publications. New York. 1971 ISBN 0-486-22717-0
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Bouteloua+gracilis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Bouteloua+gracilis

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