POACEAE

Buchloe dactyloides

Common Name:  Buffalo Grass

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Spikelets at anthesis (open flower) - the peach-colored stamens of this male (staminate) inflorescence are stunning, if you are willing to crawl on the ground to get a close look!  Female spikelets are smaller, bur-like, and somewhat hidden in the leaf sheaths Buffalo grass is perennial, and forms a stoloniferous sod.  Its leaves have short, thin, curly blades, which forms a good low- (or no) maintenance yard due to its permanent short stature and low water requirements.  Buffalo grass is currently experiencing a lot of deserved attention in the world of xeriscaping (landscaping with little water input)
individual plantlet, growing by spreading as many grasses do.  This plantlet is growing up from an above-ground horizontal stem, called a runner or stolon In the fall when Buffalo Grass is in bloom, whole fields can be sprinkled with the peach color of the staminate inflorescences