Big Bluestem

Classification
Kingdom – Plantae
Division – Magnoliophyta
Class – Liliopsida
Order – Cyperales
Family – Poaceae (grass family)
Genus species – Andropogon gerardii Vitman

Etymology
Andropogon comes from the Greek words, andro meaning man and pogon meaning beard.  The name refers to the fuzzy appearance of the seedhead in some species of bluestem.  The species name gerardii refers to the French botanist, L. Gerard (1733-1819) who was the first to describe the plant.

Leaves
Flat, 6 to 24 inches long, ¼ to ½ inch wide.
Leaf edges are rough.
Leaves are bluish, then red-purple as plant matures during growing season.

Flower
Flowers usually have three spike-like projections and look like a bird’s foot.
Flowers are 2 to 4 inches long.
Flowers are usually purplish but can be yellowish.
Flowers are spikelets, borne in pairs, one without a stalk, one with a stalk.
Flowers from August to October.

Stems
Stems grow up to 10 feet tall.
Stem is erect, solid, round, stout, slender.
Grass is green during most of the summer.
Stem turns blue-purple as it matures, hence the name bluestem.

Roots
Roots are deep with strong rhizomes.
Functions of roots:  food storage, anchoring plant in soil, and reproduction.

Habitat
Occurs in deep fertile dry soils of prairies, plains, and woodlands.
Usually occurs in large clumps.
Warm season grass.  Starts growth in late spring.  Seedhead develops and matures in late summer to fall.  Reproduces sexually by seeds and asexually by rhizomes. 

Did you know...
Also known as “turkey foot” or “turkey claw” because of the three-pronged appearance of its flowers.
Also known as “ice cream grass” because of its high quality for domestic animals and wildlife food.  Leaves are nutritious for cattle.  It is now being rediscovered as commercial hay and a forage plant.

Big bluestem may have been the most widespread and abundant grass in the prairies. 
It grows in tall and dense stands, preventing other grasses from growing around it by shading them out.
Designated as the “official state prairie grass” of Illinois

Sources
 http://ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/grass/bigb.html
http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/symbols/grass.html
http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/grass/bigblue7.jpg
http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=ANDGER
http://www.missouriplants.com/Grasses/Andropogon_gerardi_page.html
http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ANGE

 


Big bluestem flowers look like turkey feet with their three-pronged appearance.


Big bluestem plants.