Columbia Basin    Human History projects    Natural History Projects Thompson-Okanagan Upper Fraser Basin Peace River Northen Rockies Northwest

GRASSES OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Heather Stewart, Richard Hebda Major Groups of Grasses Table of Contents Glossary Bouteloua Grama Grass Bouteloua species range throughout the Americas. The name honours Esteban Boutelou, a Spanish professor of agriculture. Gramma grasses thrive in deserts and grasslands, and are more widespread to the east and south of British Columbia as a major component of the grasslands. They contribute important native forage. Only a single species occurs in the Columbia Basin region of British Columbia.   Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud. Blue Grama Plant: Bouteloua gracilis is a native species that grows to 20-50 cm tall. It is a densely tufted mat-forming, perennial with slender stems arising out of short rhizomes. It can be distinguished by its dense, brushlike flowerhead with 20-80 spikelets per spike. On fresh plants the purplish spikes are straight and horizontal. Leaves and Stem: The sheaths and collars are smooth to finely hairy. The throat of the sheath has 1-2-mm-long stiff hairs. The ligules are 0.5 mm long. Flat 1-2-mm-wide leaves grow from the base of the plant and remain there after dieback. These dried leaves are twisted or curled. The leaf edges can be either flat or rolled inward -- like a straw -- and they are either sparsely hairy or smooth. Flowerhead and Flowers: The dense flowerhead is toothbrushlike and consists of 20-80 spikelets per branch. These purplish spikelets form two rows on one side of the stem axis. Each spikelet is approximately 5-6 mm long and has one, two or three flowers. The sharply pointed glumes are 2.5-5 mm long and have hairs along the keel. The longest glume equals the length of the spikelet. The flowers of Blue Grama consist of a fertile lemma with an awn-tipped lobe and a palea equalling the lemma. Sterile lemmas make up the rest of the spikelet, some with awns up to 5-6 mm long, and others that are unawned. The overall appearance of a fresh flowerhead is of two insects perched on a stem. Habitat: Blue Grama is an important component of the grasslands to the east of the Rocky Mountains, and it grows on dry sites in the steppe zone. It most likely comes into the Columbia Basin on hay and manure when horses are transported from southern Alberta where it is fairly common (Berg, 1999, pers. comm.). The only specimen in the Royal British Columbia Museum collection comes from Rooseville, but Douglas et al. (1998) have documented other sites. Blue grama grass has been Red Listed in British Columbia by the Conservation Data Centre, and can be found on the Provincial Tracking List (CDC database, 1998; Douglas et al.,1998). It occurs in the southern interior, as well as along the southern section of the Alberta and British Columbia border (Kershaw et al.1998; Cronquist et al.1977). This species is rare in British Columbia, due in part to a general decline in natural grassland habitat in the province, and, in part, to specialized environmental requirements. These requirements include an early summer rain to help seed germination, which is uncommon in the dry valley bottoms west of the Rocky Mountains. Similar Species: None in British Columbia.

	Copyright © Royal BC Museum All rights reserved