Bouteloua hirsuta Lag.

Hairy Grama

© DETenaglia

Family - Poaceae/Cynodonteae

Stems - No info yet.

	Node of stem.
© DETenaglia

Leaves - No info yet.

	Leaf base.
© DETenaglia

	Arrow shows the small ligule.
© DETenaglia

Inflorescence - No info yet.

© DETenaglia

© DETenaglia

Flowers - No info yet.

© DETenaglia

	Different angle of the spikelets showing the long hairs present.
© DETenaglia

Flowering - July - September.

Habitat - Loess hill prairies and sand prairies.

Origin - Native to U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Other info. - This little species is extremely uncommon in Missouri and can only be found in the loess hills of the northwestern corner of the state. The plant is more common in the Great Plains of North America.
B. hirsuta can be identified by its habitat, small size, densely hairy spikelets (which have long, pustulate-based hairs), and the axis of the spike is continued well beyond the spikelets as a spiny projection. Another species, B. gracilis (Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths, can have short hairs on the spikelets but the spikes do not appear "fuzzy" as they do in B. hirsuta.

Photographs taken at the Jamerson C. McCormack Conservation Area, Holt County, MO., 8-12-06.