Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

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