Description
Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) is a warm-season native grass known for its distinctive one-sided seed heads, where oat-like spikelets hang along the stem. It’s one of the few native grasses with especially showy flowers, featuring red-purple anthers and pale stigmas during summer bloom.
Usually growing 1–2 feet tall, it forms clumps that can slowly spread by short rhizomes, creating a balanced mix of structure and openness. It blooms from August through September and adds movement and texture to prairie plantings.
This species thrives in full sun and well-drained soils, including sandy, rocky, and clay sites. It is highly drought-tolerant and well-suited for prairies, slopes, erosion control, and low-maintenance landscapes. The ‘El Reno’ variety is especially valued for its vigor, dense growth, and reliability.
Sideoats Grama is an important prairie species and a larval host for several skipper butterflies. It pairs well with spring-blooming natives like Midland Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia), Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea), and Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum), adding contrasting color and strong pollinator value.
