Colorado State Grass

Blue Grama Grass

(Bouteloua gracilis)

Adopted in 1987.

Blue Grama is a grass native to the state of Colorado, growing throughout many of the state's life zones on both sides of the Continental Divide. Grasslands are an important resource to the State of Colorado with considerable economic and conservation significance. A state grass was designated to help inform and educate citizens and tourists about this resource. Citation: Senate Joint Resolution 13, 1987.

Blue grama belongs to the grass family, Poaceae. A warm season perennial that spreads from basal tillers, growing from 4 to 18 inches in height. Well adapted to dry sites, medium to fine textured soils in the rolling uplands, but abundant on plains and mesas.

Growth Characteristics

Low-growing grass with seed stalks 6 to 20 inches tall. It is a bunchgrass with short rhizomes, often forming an open sod by tillering. Starts growth in May or June, flowers in July to August, and reproduces primarily from tillers. Cannot tolerate shading by taller plants.

Seedhead

One-sided spike up to 2 inches long that is curved and comb-shaped at maturity. Spikelets are numerous, arranged in two rows on one side of the rachis, each containing one perfect floret and two imperfect florets reduced to bristles and scales; lemmas of perfect floret three-awned; glumes hairy and awn-tipped.

Leaves

The blades are narrow, mostly basal, sometime curled but generally flat, 1 to 6 inches long, usually glabrous but sometimes hairy on the margin near the base, folded to slightly rolled in the bud. Sheaths glabrous; collar with a few hairs at the margins; ligule a fringe of very short hairs; auricles absent.
 

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