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Arizona
Range Grasses Back to the Table of Contents
Description Growth habit: A tangled perennial sodgrass, forming
bunches 12 to 24 inches tall.
Occurrence Throughout most of the state between 3,500 and 6,000
feet. It thrives best in open grasslands on dry, gravelly or sandy soils.
Although originally much more abundant than it is today, this grass
is still fairly common over much of its range.
Forage Value Black grama is one of our best and most nutritious grasses.
It produces an abundance of forage that remains palatable and nutritious
throughout the year. Although less palatable than most gramas during
the summer growing season, it cures well and provides excellent fall,
winter, and spring feed. The stems are usually green even when the plants
are not actively growing, a feature that makes this grass particularly
valuable as winter forage.
Black grama is readily damaged by heavy grazing during
the summer growing season. During the fall, winter and spring, it is
less easily harmed. Ranges on which black grama is a major component
of the vegetation should be reserved for winter range if possible. As black grama is a sod grass it spreads largely by runners called stolons. Since production of viable seed is low, it is difficult to re-establish once it has disappeared from a range.
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Cooperative
Extension,College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, The University of
Arizona