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Microscopic scratchy Buffalo photos

By Katrina Layt

It's an amazing image isn't it? This is what the tip of an old style scratchy Buffalo looks like. These microscopic photos show us the scratchy barbs that we feel on old style Buffalo. We can learn from these photos as certain Buffalo types may not be as soft as they claim.

So when we hear "soft leaf Buffalo", the tip of the leaf shouldn't be similar to this old scratchy Buffalo. But one new Australian variety claims to be "soft leaf" when in reality it is just as bad as the old style. See for yourself with the microscopic photos on the right.

The reason why these barbs are much more irritating than soft leaf Buffalo is the arrangement of the barbs. They are staggered like sharks teeth unlike soft leaf Buffalo, their barbs are more flattened and in line. Even halfway down the leaf you can still see the scratchy barbs on these two varieties, although they aren't as severe.

A true soft leaf Buffalo looks like the two varieties below, Sapphire and Palmetto. The tip of the leaf still has some barbs, although they are much smaller and aren’t staggered. Halfway down the leaf there are no barbs at all! This is what makes a true soft leaf Buffalo.

You won't need to find a microscopic photographer to test out each grass that claims to be a soft leaf Buffalo (you can if you want some more evidence). You can simply feel the difference by going to your local turf farm and looking at their sample plots.

Don't just take our word or anyone else’s for it. Test it out by feeling the turf.

Old scratchy Buffalo - top of leaf

Other Buffalo variety claiming to be soft leaf - top of the leaf

Old scratchy Buffalo - halfway down leaf

Other Buffalo variety claiming to be soft leaf - halfway down leaf

Sapphire - top of leaf

Palmetto - top of leaf

Soft Sapphire - halfway down leaf

Soft Palmetto - halfway down leaf