Summary
Place of publication:
Aliso 18:63. 1999
Verified:
10/15/2001
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Columbus, J. T. 1999. An expanded circumscription of Bouteloua (Gramineae: Chloridoideae): new combinations and names. Aliso 18:63.
- FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993-
- Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm.
- Kindscher, K. Medicinal wild plants of the prairie: an ethnobotanical guide. 1992
- Office of the Union. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union. 2009
- Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
Common names
English
buffalo grass – French
herbe aux bisons – German
Büffelgras – Portuguese (Brazil)
capim-erva-de-búfalo – Spanish
hierba búfalo – zacate búfalo – Swedish
bisongräs –
Distribution
| order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Illinois | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Iowa | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Kansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Minnesota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Nebraska | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | North Dakota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Oklahoma | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | South Dakota | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | Chihuahua | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | Coahuila | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | Nuevo Leon | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | San Luis Potosi | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northern Mexico | Mexico | Zacatecas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northwestern U.S.A. | United States | Colorado | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northwestern U.S.A. | United States | Montana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Northwestern U.S.A. | United States | Wyoming | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | New Mexico | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | Texas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Arkansas | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Louisiana | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Aguascalientes | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Federal District | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Guanajuato | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Jalisco | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Mexico | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southern Mexico | Mexico | Queretaro | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | Arizona | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | Nevada | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | Utah | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Western Canada | Canada | Manitoba | |
| 1 | Native | Northern America | Western Canada | Canada | Saskatchewan | |
| 2 | Cultivated | | | | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | | | | | |
Native
Northern America
-
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota]
-
NORTHERN MEXICO:
Mexico [Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas]
-
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Colorado, Montana, Wyoming]
-
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [New Mexico, Texas]
-
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Arkansas, Louisiana]
-
SOUTHERN MEXICO:
Mexico [Aguascalientes, Federal District, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Mexico, Queretaro]
-
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Arizona, Nevada, Utah]
-
WESTERN CANADA:
Canada [Saskatchewan, Manitoba]
Cultivated
()
Naturalized
()
Economic Uses
| Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
| Animal food | forage | | Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 170, rev. ed. 1995 |
| Environmental | erosion control | | Wu, L. 2000. Buffalograss: this ancient American forage grass may have a future as turf. Diversity 16:42-43. |
| Environmental | lawn/turf | | Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 170, rev. ed. 1995 |
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System.
2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network
(GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=418957.
Accessed 4 November 2025.