Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)

Hardy, perennial North American grass
Description: Showy, purplish, oat-like spikelets form on one side of the stem; green to blue-green basal foliage is golden brown fading to shades of purple and red-orange in the fall
Habit: Bunchy or sod-forming grass 1.5 to 2 feet wide with erect, 2 to 3 foot stems
Culture: Prefers full sun to part shade and tolerates dry to moist soil
Hardiness: Cold hardy to USDA Zone 3

Sideoats Grama is a short prairie grass native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere from Canada to Argentina. This attractive, warm-season grass mixes well in wildflower meadows and prairie restorations, and the unique flowers serve as a striking accent or focal point in a small garden. It provides food, nesting material, and cover for birds; is a larval host for the Green and Dotted Skipper butterflies; and, although a good foraging plant for livestock, is highly deer resistant. Sideoats Grama is also the state grass of Texas.