Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Andropogon from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-005:
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Andropogon ternarius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Andropogon ternarius
COMMON NAME:
Splitbeard Bluestem, Silvery Bluestem
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm120628_341
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120628_343
June Greenville County SC
Narrow glaucous blue-green summer foliage turns copper-red-bronze in fall. — Patrick McMillan
)
JK Marlow jkm220722_9263
July Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm120908_361b
September Greenville County SC
Grass flowers usually w 2 lodicules, 3 stamens, ovary w 2 feathery stigmas, per How to Know the Grasses by R.W. Pohl.
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JK Marlow jkm200907_7106
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200920_7339
September Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210903_3245
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Erect tufted or bunched perennial grass, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
)
JK Marlow jkm220927_0094
September Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
The paired, copiously hairy racemes are on peduncles 5-12cm, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States.
)
JK Marlow jkm0410c_26
October Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0510f_24
October Oconee County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0195
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_ternarius_4791
October Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_a_ternarius_70436
October Miami-Dade County FL
Everglades National Park
)
JK Marlow s041002_a
October Greenville County SC
Field
I predict that Splitbeard Bluestem will become one of your favorite grasses, per Gardening with Native Plants of the South.
)
JK Marlow s041002_a2
October Greenville County SC
Field
Racemes 2-3, conspicuously white villous, 1.5-5cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
JK Marlow jkm0211c_15 on left
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
Splitbeard Bluestem on the left; Broomsedge on the right
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_01
November Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_06
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0211k_11
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
Each feathery seed tuft, in a "V", catches the light and amplifies it, per Gardening with Native Plants of the South.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_andropogon_tenarius_3
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Andropogon ternarius var. ternarius
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-87-005:
Andropogon ternarius
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Andropogon ternarius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Andropogon ternarius
88
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Mountains)
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, dry to moist soils of woodlands and openings, per Weakley's Flora
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
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Raceme (2-3 per peduncle)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Grain purplish/Yellowish
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p202
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p173
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p207
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States p760
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p141
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p095