Buffalo Grass
Bouteloua dactyloides
Found in prairies, lawns, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 4–8 inches
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Bouteloua
- Atrytone arogosArogos Skipper, Beardgrass Skipper
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Limochores origenesCrossline Skipper
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Bouteloua
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Flower color
- Green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Fire Effects Information System: Bouteloua dactyloides differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Buffalograss
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications