Index / Search / Bouteloua gracilis
§1 Plant
Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths
vernacular blue grama — species · Poaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Monocot
- Family
- Poaceae Barnhart
- Genus
- Bouteloua
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 525 counties across 24 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- Medium
- Anaerobic
- None
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -43 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 142 min.
- Precipitation
- 8–22 in/yr
- pH range
- 6.6–8.4
- Root depth
- 16 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Bunch
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 1 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Gray-Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Early Summer
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 724,400
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- High
- Graze palatability
- High
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Medium
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 525 counties across 24 states/territories.
Arizona view state ↗ 15 N ▾
California view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Adams 08001
- Alamosa 08003
- Archuleta 08007
- Baca 08009
- Boulder 08013
- Chaffee 08015
- Cheyenne 08017
- Clear Creek 08019
- Conejos 08021
- Costilla 08023
- Crowley 08025
- Custer 08027
- Douglas 08035
- El Paso 08041
- Fremont 08043
- Garfield 08045
- Gilpin 08047
- Huerfano 08055
- Jefferson 08059
- Kiowa 08061
- Kit Carson 08063
- La Plata 08067
- Larimer 08069
- Las Animas 08071
- Lincoln 08073
- Logan 08075
- Mesa 08077
- Mineral 08079
- Montezuma 08083
- Montrose 08085
- Morgan 08087
- Otero 08089
- Park 08093
- Prowers 08099
- Pueblo 08101
- Rio Grande 08105
- Routt 08107
- Saguache 08109
- San Juan 08111
- San Miguel 08113
- Sedgwick 08115
- Teller 08119
- Washington 08121
- Weld 08123
- Yuma 08125
Idaho view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 84 N ▾
- Barber 20007
- Barton 20009
- Butler 20015
- Chase 20017
- Cheyenne 20023
- Clark 20025
- Clay 20027
- Cloud 20029
- Coffey 20031
- Comanche 20033
- Cowley 20035
- Decatur 20039
- Dickinson 20041
- Douglas 20045
- Edwards 20047
- Elk 20049
- Ellis 20051
- Ellsworth 20053
- Finney 20055
- Ford 20057
- Geary 20061
- Gove 20063
- Graham 20065
- Grant 20067
- Gray 20069
- Greeley 20071
- Greenwood 20073
- Hamilton 20075
- Harper 20077
- Harvey 20079
- Haskell 20081
- Hodgeman 20083
- Jackson 20085
- Jefferson 20087
- Jewell 20089
- Kearny 20093
- Kingman 20095
- Kiowa 20097
- Lane 20101
- Lincoln 20105
- Logan 20109
- Lyon 20111
- Marion 20115
- Marshall 20117
- McPherson 20113
- Meade 20119
- Mitchell 20123
- Morris 20127
- Morton 20129
- Ness 20135
- Norton 20137
- Osage 20139
- Osborne 20141
- Ottawa 20143
- Pawnee 20145
- Phillips 20147
- Pratt 20151
- Rawlins 20153
- Reno 20155
- Republic 20157
- Rice 20159
- Riley 20161
- Rooks 20163
- Rush 20165
- Russell 20167
- Saline 20169
- Scott 20171
- Sedgwick 20173
- Seward 20175
- Shawnee 20177
- Sheridan 20179
- Sherman 20181
- Smith 20183
- Stafford 20185
- Stanton 20187
- Stevens 20189
- Sumner 20191
- Thomas 20193
- Trego 20195
- Wabaunsee 20197
- Wallace 20199
- Wichita 20203
- Woodson 20207
- Wyandotte 20209
Maine view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Becker 27005
- Benton 27009
- Big Stone 27011
- Blue Earth 27013
- Cass 27021
- Chippewa 27023
- Clay 27027
- Cottonwood 27033
- Crow Wing 27035
- Dakota 27037
- Douglas 27041
- Kandiyohi 27067
- Kittson 27069
- Lac qui Parle 27073
- Lincoln 27081
- Lyon 27083
- Mahnomen 27087
- Marshall 27089
- McLeod 27085
- Morrison 27097
- Murray 27101
- Nicollet 27103
- Norman 27107
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pipestone 27117
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Redwood 27127
- Renville 27129
- Sherburne 27141
- Stearns 27145
- Stevens 27149
- Swift 27151
- Traverse 27155
- Wilkin 27167
- Winona 27169
- Yellow Medicine 27173
Missouri view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 17 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 53 N ▾
- Antelope 31003
- Box Butte 31013
- Brown 31017
- Buffalo 31019
- Butler 31023
- Cherry 31031
- Cheyenne 31033
- Clay 31035
- Cuming 31039
- Custer 31041
- Dawes 31045
- Dawson 31047
- Deuel 31049
- Dodge 31053
- Douglas 31055
- Franklin 31061
- Frontier 31063
- Garden 31069
- Garfield 31071
- Gosper 31073
- Greeley 31077
- Hall 31079
- Hamilton 31081
- Harlan 31083
- Hayes 31085
- Hitchcock 31087
- Holt 31089
- Hooker 31091
- Jefferson 31095
- Kearney 31099
- Keith 31101
- Kimball 31105
- Knox 31107
- Lancaster 31109
- Lincoln 31111
- Loup 31115
- Madison 31119
- Merrick 31121
- Morrill 31123
- Nuckolls 31129
- Perkins 31135
- Phelps 31137
- Platte 31141
- Red Willow 31145
- Richardson 31147
- Scotts Bluff 31157
- Seward 31159
- Sheridan 31161
- Sherman 31163
- Sioux 31165
- Stanton 31167
- Thomas 31171
- Webster 31181
Nevada view state ↗ 6 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 32 N ▾
- Bernalillo 35001
- Catron 35003
- Chaves 35005
- Cibola 35006
- Colfax 35007
- De Baca 35011
- Dona Ana 35013
- Eddy 35015
- Grant 35017
- Guadalupe 35019
- Harding 35021
- Hidalgo 35023
- Lea 35025
- Lincoln 35027
- Los Alamos 35028
- Luna 35029
- McKinley 35031
- Mora 35033
- Otero 35035
- Quay 35037
- Rio Arriba 35039
- Roosevelt 35041
- San Juan 35045
- San Miguel 35047
- Sandoval 35043
- Santa Fe 35049
- Sierra 35051
- Socorro 35053
- Taos 35055
- Torrance 35057
- Union 35059
- Valencia 35061
New York view state ↗ 2 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 40 N ▾
- Adams 38001
- Barnes 38003
- Billings 38007
- Bottineau 38009
- Bowman 38011
- Burke 38013
- Burleigh 38015
- Cass 38017
- Divide 38023
- Dunn 38025
- Eddy 38027
- Emmons 38029
- Golden Valley 38033
- Grand Forks 38035
- Grant 38037
- Griggs 38039
- Hettinger 38041
- Kidder 38043
- Logan 38047
- McHenry 38049
- McIntosh 38051
- McKenzie 38053
- McLean 38055
- Mercer 38057
- Morton 38059
- Mountrail 38061
- Oliver 38065
- Pembina 38067
- Pierce 38069
- Ramsey 38071
- Ransom 38073
- Richland 38077
- Sioux 38085
- Slope 38087
- Stark 38089
- Steele 38091
- Stutsman 38093
- Ward 38101
- Wells 38103
- Williams 38105
Ohio view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 7 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 39 N ▾
- Aurora 46003
- Beadle 46005
- Bon Homme 46009
- Brookings 46011
- Brule 46015
- Buffalo 46017
- Charles Mix 46023
- Clay 46027
- Codington 46029
- Corson 46031
- Custer 46033
- Dewey 46041
- Douglas 46043
- Fall River 46047
- Faulk 46049
- Haakon 46055
- Hanson 46061
- Harding 46063
- Hughes 46065
- Hutchinson 46067
- Jackson 46071
- Jones 46075
- Kingsbury 46077
- Lawrence 46081
- Lincoln 46083
- Lyman 46085
- Marshall 46091
- McPherson 46089
- Mellette 46095
- Minnehaha 46099
- Pennington 46103
- Perkins 46105
- Roberts 46109
- Sanborn 46111
- Spink 46115
- Stanley 46117
- Todd 46121
- Walworth 46129
- Yankton 46135
Texas view state ↗ 73 N ▾
- Andrews 48003
- Archer 48009
- Armstrong 48011
- Bailey 48017
- Bell 48027
- Bexar 48029
- Brazos 48041
- Brewster 48043
- Briscoe 48045
- Carson 48065
- Castro 48069
- Childress 48075
- Cottle 48101
- Crockett 48105
- Culberson 48109
- Dallam 48111
- Dawson 48115
- Deaf Smith 48117
- Donley 48129
- Edwards 48137
- El Paso 48141
- Ellis 48139
- Erath 48143
- Floyd 48153
- Gaines 48165
- Garza 48169
- Gray 48179
- Hale 48189
- Hall 48191
- Hansford 48195
- Hardeman 48197
- Hartley 48205
- Haskell 48207
- Hemphill 48211
- Hockley 48219
- Hudspeth 48229
- Hutchinson 48233
- Jack 48237
- Jeff Davis 48243
- Kerr 48265
- Kimble 48267
- Knox 48275
- Lamb 48279
- Lipscomb 48295
- Llano 48299
- Lubbock 48303
- Mason 48319
- Menard 48327
- Montague 48337
- Moore 48341
- Ochiltree 48357
- Oldham 48359
- Parmer 48369
- Pecos 48371
- Potter 48375
- Presidio 48377
- Randall 48381
- Reeves 48389
- Roberts 48393
- Scurry 48415
- Sherman 48421
- Sutton 48435
- Taylor 48441
- Terrell 48443
- Terry 48445
- Val Verde 48465
- Ward 48475
- Wheeler 48483
- Wichita 48485
- Wilbarger 48487
- Williamson 48491
- Yoakum 48501
- Young 48503
Utah view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 4 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/BOGR2 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/7861320 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z