Six-weeks grama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Six-weeks grama |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Bouteloua
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| Species: |
barbata
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Bouteloua barbata is a type of grass often called six-weeks grama. This grass grows naturally in North America.
Contents
Where Six-Weeks Grama Grows
This grass is found in North America. It grows in the southwestern United States and goes south into Oaxaca, Mexico. It might also be found in Montana. You can also find it far away in Argentina.
What Six-Weeks Grama Looks Like
This grass can be an annual or a perennial. It grows in clumps of stems. These stems can be 30 to 75 cm (12 to 30 in) long. They can lie flat, spread out, or stand straight up.
The plant has a special flower part called an inflorescence. This part has up to 11 branches. Each branch has many small flowers, called spikelets. There can be up to 40 spikelets in a dense row.
The seeds of this grass are very light. Each seed weighs about 0.03 milligrams. Because they are so light, the seeds can be carried by the wind. Animals also help spread the seeds around.
Life Cycle of Six-Weeks Grama
Six-weeks grama can grow from a seed. It can also sprout again from its roots after summer rains. It usually starts to flower around July. The flowering season lasts until October.
There are three main types, or varieties, of this grass:
- The barbata variety is an annual plant. Its stems lie down and can grow roots where they touch the ground.
- The rothrockii variety is a perennial plant. It has stems that stand up straight. Some people think this might be a different species.
- The sonorae variety is found only in northern Mexico. It spreads using special stems called stolons.
How Six-Weeks Grama Lives in Nature
This grass grows in many different places. You can find it in prairies and grasslands. It also grows in pinyon-juniper woodlands, chaparral, and shrubsteppe. It likes dry areas, like savannas and Ponderosa pine forests.
It lives in the deserts of the American southwest and Mexico. These include the Colorado, Mojave, and Chihuahuan Deserts. You can also see it in dry, disturbed places. This includes roadsides, railroad tracks, and pastures where too many animals have eaten the grass.
Animals and Six-Weeks Grama
Even though this grass is tasty to eat, it's not a main food for livestock like cows. This is because the plant is small. Also, it stays green for only a short time.
However, many other animals use this grass. Many birds and small animals eat its seeds. These animals include prairie dogs and desert kangaroo rats. Harvester ants in Arizona also like to eat the seeds from this grass.
