Sideoats Grama –

Sideoats Grama –

Sideoats grama is Texas’ state grass.  Grama doesn’t mean grandma.  Grama means ‘pasture’ grass.  I think it’s Latin.  The grama grasses are the best forage in the world for cattle…and buffalo.

Sideoats grama is mainly a bunch grass which makes great dove and quail nests.  Birds use it for coverage from predators and for hatching their eggs.  It’s bushy and most of the time there is a little spot in the middle of the plant where a nest or shelter could be.  In the winter the oats fall off and are eaten by numerous bird species.

Look at the little tuft of orange sticking out of the seed head.  That’s a flower.  Most grass species bloom just like bluebonnets.

I like this grass because it looks like a war lance that a Comanche would use to kill a buffalo.  The oats on the side of the stem are dangling off the side like feathers.  I can see it, stuck in the ground outside Quanah Parker’s teepee.