Seed - raw or cooked[257]. It can be ground into a powder, mixed with water and eaten as a mush, often with corn meal[257]. It is also used to make bread[257]. Edible Uses & Rating: The grains are edible and were traditionally parched and made into porridge or meal. Flavor is notably pleasant for a wild grass—rounded, cereal-sweet, without swampy overtones. Yield per plant is modest and de-chaffing is tedious, so it’s a “quality over speed” grain [2-3]. Edibility rating: 3.5/5 for flavor, 3/5 overall (processing effort and low per-plant yield keep it from being a staple). Taste, Processing & Kitchen Notes: Freshly harvested grains are delicate; toasting takes seconds—listen for the light crackle and pull before scorching. Toasted grains smell nutty and taste barley-like. For hot cereal, boil 5–10 minutes; the cooked texture is pleasantly soft with a mild chew. Chaff removal is the challenge: parch (light dry toast), rub, then winnow repeatedly on a calm day. A coarse sieve followed by a final winnow improves cleanliness. If you don’t want to battle chaff, make a grain beverage: pound whole spikelets, simmer 20–30 minutes, then filter through fine cloth; reduce for a sweeter, thicker drink [2-3]. Seasonality (Phenology: A warm-season grass that initiates growth with rising soil temperatures in late spring. Flowering and grain fill track summer rains; in good years you may see two flushes. Primary harvest runs August–November at most elevations; at low, hot sites the first crop can mature earlier. Harvest & Processing Workflow: Hand-strip or clip straw-colored, fully dry seedheads into a breathable sack. Air-dry a few days. Parch lightly, then rub between hands or on a coarse screen to free grains. Winnow in light, steady air. For meal, toast a second time and grind; for porridge, simmer 5–10 minutes with 4–6 parts water. For a beverage, pound whole spikelets, simmer, and filter through fine cloth; reduce to taste. Cultivar/Selection Notes: Widely used selections include range-type sources such as ‘Hachita’, ‘Lovington’, and ‘Bad River’ for uniform, drought-hard turf and forage; ornamental forms like ‘Blonde Ambition’ are grown for tall, showy, long-lasting seedheads. Choose regional ecotypes for restoration fidelity and superior establishment. Look-Alikes & Confusion Risks: Six-weeks grama (Bouteloua barbata) is an annual with delicate plants and very small grains; sideoats grama (B. curtipendula) bears many dangling spikelets along one side of the stem rather than a few eyelash-like terminal combs. Buffalo grass (often placed apart as Buchloë dactyloides) forms a finer, stoloniferous sod with different flowering structures. If in doubt, look for the 1–3 terminal “eyelash” spikes and hairy ligule of blue grama. Traditional/Indigenous Use Summary: Across the Southwest and Plains, blue grama grains were gathered, parched, and ground for porridge or mixed with other meals. Harvest often followed summer rains when heads matured in waves; processing included parching, rubbing, and winnowing, with some communities brewing grain beverages when chaff separation was impractical.

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Salve  Women's complaints

The chewed roots have been applied to cuts[257]. A decoction of the whole plant has been used as a post-partum medicine[257].

Basketry  Broom  Brush

The grass is sometimes used in the fill of coiled basketry[216, 257]. The stems can be used as a comb and broom material[257]. The blades can be bundled by a cord and the stiff end used as a hair comb whilst the other end can be used as a broom[257]. Ecology & Wildlife: High wildlife value despite its small stature. It is prime forage for bison and ungulates, forms nesting and foraging structure for ground-nesting birds and invertebrates, and its dense fibrous roots stabilize soils and enhance infiltration. As a C4 grass it exhibits high water-use efficiency and strong heat tolerance.

Special Uses