One avenue for cutting into the amount of water used in California lies in a type of grass that is five to seven million years old, according to Lin L. Wu, an associate professsor of environmental horticulture at UC Davis. Buffalograss, the oldest grass of the American Great Plains, requires less than 50 percent of the water needed by most conventional varieties of turfgrass, such as rye and Kentucky bluegrass, Wu says. It can be used for regular home lawns, parks and the roughs and fairways of golf courses without any sacrfice in quality or esthetics. Several sod farms are in the process of developing buffalograss sod, which should be on the market in two or three years, according to Wu. Although the grass does not grow well in the shade, requiring at least 50 percent sunlight, it thrives in a hot, dry climate, such as that in California's Central Valley. Wu has been investigating which buffalograss characteristics are best suited for a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance turfgrass.