Flora of New Zealand Series

buffalo grass

Perennial, coarse, glaucous, almost glabrous tufts arising from a short woody rhizome and from long, trailing, tough, arching, compressed, angular stolons; stolons deeply furrowed along one edge and rooting at lower nodes; branching extravaginal from rhizome, culms branching intravaginally above. Leaf-sheath light green to later creamy brown, firm, papery, strongly folded, keeled, narrow membranous margin edged with long soft hairs just below collar. Ligule a densely ciliate rim, hairs c. 0.5 mm. Collar villous. Leaf-blade (3)-10-20 cm × c. 2-4 mm diam., strongly folded, later flattened, firm, papery, linear, abaxially glabrous, adaxially with occasional long hairs; keel pronounced, narrow; margins often inrolled, somewhat thickened, smooth, but scabrid towards obtuse, almost truncate tip. Culm to 25 cm, nodes glabrous, compressed, internodes glabrous. Panicle 3.5-7 cm, spike-like, terminal, with 1-2 lateral, pedunculate panicles from axils of upper leaves, included within or shortly exserted from uppermost sheath; rachis erect or curved, stout, dorsally flattened and (1.5)-2-3.5 mm wide, bearing numerous, short, alternate, contiguous racemes on one side, often with depressions marking off internodes, disarticulating below each raceme at maturity; racemes bearing (1)-2-3-(5) spikelets, in hollows along 3-angled rachis; raceme-rachis scabrid-angled above and prolonged to a sharp point beside upper spikelet. Spikelets 4-5 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, acute or subacuminate, pale greenish, brownish or purplish; pedicels very reduced, stout. Glumes membranous, very dissimilar; lower 0.5-1 mm, nerveless, obtuse to truncate, glabrous, or apex ciliate, upper 3.5-5 mm, 7-9-nerved, acute, glabrous. Lower floret ♂: lemma = spikelet, 5-9-nerved, subcoriaceous, scabrid near apex; palea ≈ lemma, chartaceous, glabrous, keels rounded and thickened, margins hyaline; anthers 1.6-2.8 mm. Upper floret ⚥: lemma 5-nerved, more lanceolate and more acute than lemma of lower floret; both lemma and palea scabrid in upper ½; anthers 2-2.5 mm; stigmas conspicuous, purplish; caryopsis not seen.

N.: North and South Auckland and offshore islands, scattered further south; S.: Nelson and Canterbury, scattered; K. Usually coastal, often on banks; margins of hot springs.

Naturalised.

Indigenous to tropical America and Africa but now naturalised in warm temperate and tropical regions in both Hemispheres.

Buffalo grass is often used as a lawn grass in coastal areas. It forms a coarse lawn and makes a thick, spongy turf if not mown frequently.

No seed has been seen; seed was not recorded from Australian material [Vickery, J. W. Fl. N.S.W. No. 19, Gramineae 2: 266 (1975)].

The names Buchloe dactyloides and Bulbilis dactyloides have been applied in error to Stenotaphrum secundatum in N.Z.; both names refer to a chloridoid North American grass which is known there as buffalograss. In North America Stenotaphrum secundatum has the common name St Augustine grass.