OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium   FAMILY Poaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)

Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Schizachyrium scoparium ssp. scoparium

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-001:

Andropogon scoparius   FAMILY Poaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)

Andropogon scoparius var. scoparius

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Andropogon scoparius

 

COMMON NAME:
Common Little Bluestem


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950    pnd_ansc10_003_lvd

        

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950    pnd_anscn2_001_lvd

        

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm070520_001

May    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Leaf blades linear, 8-14" long at maturity, initially light green, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0410n_03

October    Oconee County    SC

Turns a reddish to golden brown in fall & holds this color well into winter, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm0410o_06

October    Oconee County    SC

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm231010_5928

October    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm231010_5931

October    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

Keith Bradley    kab_s_scoparium_4776

October    Lancaster County    SC

Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

Stems solitary or forming small clumps, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm081101_039

November    Greenwood County    SC

Roadside

Flower spikes are solitary from long stalks at intervals along the stem, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm081102_168

November    Edgefield County    SC

Utility right-of-way

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm081102_170

November    Edgefield County    SC

Utility right-of-way

A true bunch grass, with few to many roundish stems in clumps, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm091107_027

November    Greenwood County    SC

Racemes 3-6cm long, mostly curved, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm091107_030

November    Greenwood County    SC

Schizachyrium's spikes not split into two racemes, like those of Andropogon, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

JK Marlow    jkm211112_4934

November    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

Bill Stringer    wcs86_a

November?        

image of Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium, Common Little Bluestem

Bill Stringer    wcs86_b

November?        

The filiform peduncles are mostly wholly or partly included in the sheaths, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium   FAMILY Poaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Schizachyrium scoparium ssp. scoparium

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-001:
Andropogon scoparius   FAMILY Poaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Andropogon scoparius var. scoparius

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Andropogon scoparius

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

86

Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial

Habitat: In a wide range of moist to dry habitats, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate, 2-ranked

RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Cespitose [growing in dense tufts, clumping], without creeping rhizomes

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall

Raceme (1 per peduncle)

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain purplish/Yellowish
Grain

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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