Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Grasses of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Height	Prime Season
	Little Bluestem	Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash var. scoparium	Poaceae (Grasses)	Upland	1.5 to 5 feet	July to October
	Native Status	Little Bluestem is one of the most widely distributed native grasses in North American, found in all the states but Oregon and Nevada, and in all the lower Canadian Provinces. In Minnesota it is widespread, absent mostly in the counties of the NE quadrant.
Notes	Little Bluestem is a medium height warm-season grass that is well adapted to grow in well-drained, medium to dry soils. It has excellent drought tolerance. It also adapts to savannas, particularly open Oak woods. Growth is from short scaly rhizomes. The stem is erect, the leaf blades are up to 5/16" wide (8mm), rather short - up to 6" long (15mm), coarse on top and on the margins, but smooth under. Blades are light blue-green, a little twisted and with a blunt tip. The leaf sheath is split, keeled and often purplish at the base. The entire plant picks up a reddish cast after a frost. The flowering seed head branches terminate in a single spike-like raceme - which is a characteristic of the genus Schizachyrium. When mature, the seed heads are densely hairy. A very similar plant is Andropogon virginicus (Broomsedge),( also now included under the genus Schizachyrium), which has differences in the seed. Little Bluestem is a fair forage species, and a good seed provider for wildlife. There are several varieties of Little Bluestem but in Minnesota the only variety commonly found is var. scoparium.


Above and top left: A clump of Little Bluestem approaching seed maturity. Photos ©Jennifer Anderson, USDA-NRCS Plants Database	Drawing above courtesy USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.
Below: Little Bluestem in late fall color. Photo ©Phoebe Waugh	Below: Little Bluestem in late September with seed heads appearing white due to the white hair on the seeds and the reddish cast to the stems.

Below: The split leaf sheath and ligule	Below: The dense hair of the seeds.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 28c, W2, W3, W5 & W6. Distribution principally from W2 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

©2011 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are the property of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden unless otherwise credited. "www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org"

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