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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Schizachyrium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_ansc10_003_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_anscn2_001_lvd
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm0410o_06
October Oconee County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm231010_5928
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231010_5931
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm081102_168
November Edgefield County SC
Utility right-of-way
)
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).
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm211112_4934
November Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Bill Stringer wcs86_a
November?
)
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
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)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p200
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p174
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p215
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p557
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p753
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p192
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p80
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p141
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p414
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p436
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p095
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