buffalo grass

American  

noun

1. a short grass, Buchloë dactyloides, having gray-green blades, prevalent on the dry plains east of the Rocky Mountains.

2. St. Augustine grass.

3. any of several short, tufted grasses that do not form continuous sod.

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buffalo grass British  

noun

1. a short grass, Buchloë dactyloides , growing on the dry plains of the central US

2. a grass, Stenotaphrum americanum , introduced from North America

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Etymology

Origin of buffalo grass

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Example Sentences

We have a buffalo grass lawn that was started with plugs, so I’m writing from experience.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 21, 2023

About 90% of SoCal lawns are planted with deep-green fescue grass, Baird says, but warm-season grasses such as Bermuda or buffalo grass need about 20% less water to stay green in hot, dry conditions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2022

On a normal summer Wednesday, the Torrington Livestock Markets would be quiet, and cows and their calves would be out on waving fields of buffalo grass, gaining weight for the autumn.

From New York Times • Jul. 16, 2012

“The community is drying up,” Mark Axtell, the area’s only funeral director, said on a walk through the cemetery, where brown tufts of buffalo grass crunched underfoot.

From New York Times • May 4, 2011

Seemed as if folks were seeing German spies and seditionists under every patch of buffalo grass.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson