Search Field Guide
Advanced Search
MT Gov Logo
Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Side-oats Grama - Bouteloua curtipendula

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4S5
C-value: 5


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links






 
General Description
Perennial bunchgrass with scaly rhizomes. Stems 4–7 dm long. Leaves: blades 2–6 mm wide, somewhat curled. Inflorescence of 20–50 secund lateral downward-oriented spikes, each 1–2 cm long and with 3–6 spikelets. Spikelets 4–5 mm long. Lemmas essentially hairless, awn-tipped, these falling with the lateral spike of spikelets; rudimentary florets 1 (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
Mexico north CA to MT and Canadian prairies to much of the eastern USA, although much less common east of the Mississippi River (Kartesz in prep. 2012).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 431

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Open dry rocky slopes and open understory often where Yucca glauca is common (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Anderson, N.L. 1951. Field studies on the biology of range grasshoppers of southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 96 p.
    • Anderson, N.L. 1962. Grasshopper-vegetation relationships on Montana grasslands. Ph.D Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 73 p.
    • DuBois, K.L. 1979. An inventory of the avifauna in the Long Pines of Southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 113 p.
    • Egan, J.L. 1957. Some relationships between mule deer and alfalfa production in Powder River County, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • Fritzen, D.E. 1995. Ecology and behavior of Mule Deer on the Rosebud Coal Mine, Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 143 p.
    • Hanson, H. C. 1955. Characteristics of the Stipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis - Bouteloua curtipendula association in northern Colorado. Ecology 36(2):269-280.
    • Harvey, S.J. 1990. Responses of steppe plants to gradients of water soil texture and disturbance in Montana, U.S.A. Ph.D. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • King, L.A. 1980. Effects of topsoiling and other reclamation practices on nonseeded species establishment on surface mined land at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 129 p.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Meier, G.A. 1997. The colonization of Montana roadsides by native and exotic plants. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 45 p.
    • Murphy, C.Y. 2016. Chemical control and disease reservoir studies of the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella Keifer) vector to wheat streak mosaic virus. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 75 p.
    • Plantenberg, P.L. 1983. Factors affecting vegetation development on mined land at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 121 p.
    • Quire, R.L. 2013. The sagebrush steppe of Montana and southeastern Idaho shows evidence of high native plant diversity, stability, and resistance to the detrimental effects of nonnative plant species. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 124 p.
    • Rennick, R.B. 1981. Effects of prescribed burning on mixed prairie vegetation in southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 144 p.
    • Scow, K.L. 1981. Ecological distribution of small mammals at Sarpy Creek, Montana, with special consideration of the Deer Mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 73 p.
    • Skilbred, Chester L. 1979. Plant succession on five naturally revegetated strip-mined deposits at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 128 pp.
    • Skinner, K.F. 1995. Plant and grasshopper community composition: indicators & interactions across three spatial scales. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 144 p.
    • Thompson, W. L. 1993. Ecology of Merriam's Turkeys in relation to burned and logged areas in southeastern Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 195 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Side-oats Grama"
Login Logout
Citation for data on this website:
Side-oats Grama — Bouteloua curtipendula.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from