Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
Height: 1.5 to 2.5 feet
Spread: 1.5 to 2 feet
Type: Native Grass
Sun: Full sun
Bloom Time July to August
Bloom Description: Purple
Water: Dry to Medium
Attracts: Birds
Tolerate: Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Black Walnut
Native to Jefferson County
You will never hear the Sideoats Grama sing the ballad “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” as having its rots firmly buried in the prairie is just where it wants to be.
A native grass to the prairies and rolling terrain of Appalachian Ohio, Sideoats Grama was a common site to the Mingo, Lenape, and Shawnee and was prized by the early settlers of the region as a good source of food for their livestock.
As the common name implies, Sideoats Grama are noted for the oat-like seeds that hand from only one side of the flowering stems. The flowers appear at during the peak of summer and fill the landscape with full heads of purple tinged flowers on arching stems. The flowers will turn to tan with the setting of seeds and become a haven for song birds seeking the fatty foods.
Sideoats Grama is noted for turning orange to red in the fall and providing a next texture element to the fall landscape.
The roots of the plant can grow from 2 to 4 feet into the ground providing great stabilization and contributes greatly to the soil health of the property.
Sideoats Grama is often found growing in the wild with Little Blue Stem. The plant can also sustain regular cutting as well.
An important host species for a variety of Lepidoptera including Orange Skipperlings, Bronze Roadside-Skipper, Sheep Skipper, Elissa Roadside-Skipper, Dotted Skipper, and the Green Skipper. Sideoats Grama provides birds food, nesting material, and cover.. ■
