LITTLE BLUESTEM
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Schizachyrium scoparium   (Michx. ) Nash
[=Andropogon scoparius Michx.]
Riley County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 2-4 feet
Family: Poaceae - Grass Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September
Culms: Erect, solid, branching above, slightly flattened, bluish green to purplish, waxy.
Blades: Folded or sometimes rolled backward, 2 to 12 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, glabrous to hairy, somewhat rough above near bases; tips tapered to sharp points.
Sheaths: Shorter than internodes, usually glabrous, keeled.
Ligules: Fringed membranes.
Inflorescences: Racemes, spike-like, numerous, on slender stalks, 1 to 2.5 inches long, zigzag when mature.
Spikelets: In pairs, 1 sessile, fertile, 1 stalked, staminate or sterile; rachis and spikelet stalks hairy; upper lemma awn of sessile spikelet to 3/5 inch long, bent and twisted.
Habitat: Prairies, dry hills, and open woods.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Forage Value: It provides very nutritious grazing prior to maturity.
Comments: Tufted. State grass of Kansas. Little bluestem is one of the most abundant grasses in Kansas, and it has significant economic importance in the Flint Hills region. Its roots, which grow 5-8 feet long, enable it to resist moderate drought conditions. The plant turns a red or bronze-orange cast after frost.

Little bluestem inflorescence
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Riley County, Kansas
Little bluestem inflorescence
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Riley County, Kansas
Little bluestem spikelets
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Riley County, Kansas
Little bluestem
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Little bluestem anthers
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Riley County, Kansas
Little bluestem in the fall
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Riley County, Kansas
Little bluestem
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Pratt County, Kansas
Little bluestem
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Pratt County, Kansas
Little bluestem
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Russell County, Kansas
Little bluestem
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Russell County, Kansas