little bluestem

(Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium)

Conservation Status
little bluestem
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Little bluestem is an erect, medium-height grass reaching 18 to 36 in height at maturity.

The stem (culm) is distinctly wine-red or purplish near the nodes.

The leaves, especially the lower ones, are rough to the touch, and may have scattered, long hairs.

At the top of each culm are several ascending racemes, 1½ to 3 long. Each raceme occurs individually on its own slender stalk.

The spikelets are hairy. The glumes have a twisted awn at the tip about ¼ to ½ inch long.

Unlike most grasses, the stems of little bluestem remain upright in the winter.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

18 to 36

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry to moderate moisture. Prairies, south-facing goat prairies, open woods, pine barrens, dunes, roadsides, railroads, old fields. Well-drained, rocky or sandy soil.

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Mid-July to mid-October

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

Little bluestem is often used in prairie restorations.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.

 
  5/7/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Liliopsida (monocots)  
 

Order

Poales (grasses, sedges, cattails, and allies)  
 

Family

Poaceae (grasses)  
  No Rank PACMAD clade  
  Subfamily Panicoideae (bristlegrasses, bluestems, paspalums, and allies)  
  Tribe Andropogoneae (bluestems, lemon grasses, silvergrasses, and allies)  
  Subtribe Andropogoninae (bluestems, thatching grasses, and allies)  
 

Genus

Schizachyrium (little bluestems and allies)  
  Species Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

broom

broom beard grass

broom beardgrass

broom bluestem

little blue-stem

little bluestem

prairie beard grass

prairie beardgrass

wiregrass

 
       
 

The “blue” in the name refers to the color of the emerging shoots in the early summer. The “little” in the name is a misnomer—this is not a little plant—but differentiates it from similarly-named big bluestem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Awn

A stiff, bristle-like appendage at the tip of the glume, lemma, or palea of grass florets.

 

Culm

The hollow or pithy stem of a grass, sedge, or rush.

 

Glume

A bract at the base of a grass spikelet. Glumes usually occur in pairs, but occasionally only one is present.

 

Raceme

An unbranched, elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers. The flowers mature from the bottom up.

 
 
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Habitat

 
    little bluestem   little bluestem  
           
 

Clump

 
    little bluestem   little bluestem  
           
    little bluestem   little bluestem  
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    little bluestem      
           
 

Infructescence

 
    little bluestem   little bluestem  
           
 

Winter

 
    little bluestem   little bluestem  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Little Bluestem - Andropogon scoparium at Ion Exchange
Ionxchange
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Oct 4, 2011

Earthyman views Little Bluestem (Andropogon scoparium) also known as Schizachyrium scoparium at Ion Exchange, native seed and plant nursery in NE Iowa ttp://ionxchange.com/products/ANDROPOGON­-SCOPARIUM-%7C-Little-Blue-Stem.html

   
  Little Bluestem
Karl Foord
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 12, 2013

No description available.

   
  Collecting Seed from Little Bluestem for Seed Bank
chicagobotanicgarden
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Feb 16, 2011

No description available.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
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