Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

BIG BLUESTEM

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Andropogon gerardii Vitman

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2 to 7 feet

Family: Poaceae - Grass Family

Flowering Period: July, August, September

Also Called:

Turkey-foot.

Culms:

Erect, stout, solid, round, branching toward summit, glabrous, waxy, grooved on 1 side.

Blades:

Flat or rolled inward or outward, 6-24 inches long, to 1/2 inch wide, usually smooth below, rough above, bluish or purplish, usually hairy near collar.

Sheaths:

Glabrous or hairy, generally shorter than internode, waxy, purplish

Ligules:

Fringed membrane, less than 1/10 inch long.

Inflorescences:

Racemes, 2-7, finger-like, each 1.5-4 inches long, purplish to yellowish brown, terminal

Spikelets:

Borne in pairs; sessile spikelets perfect; lemmas with awn up to 3/4 inch long that is bent and twisted below; stalked spikelets about same size, staminate or sterile, without awns.

Habitat:

Lowland prairies, plains, and open woods, in deep, fertile, dry soils.

Distribution:

Throughout, but rare in southwest corner. It is the most abundant grass in the tallgrass prairie region.

Reproduction:

Reproduces primarily via rhizomes.

Forage Value:

One of the highest-quality forage grasses on the prairie. Livestock relish it, usually preferring it to other grasses. Big bluestem decreases with overgrazing.

Uses:

Prairie chickens and songbirds consume the seeds.

Comments:

Sometimes called "turkey-foot" for the distinctive shape of the inflorescence. Dead stems often remain standing throughout the winter, and the leaf blades take on a reddish cast after frost.

Big bluestem