UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Schizachyrium scoparium

broom bluestem, little bluestem
Habit Tufted perennial, but also with rhizomes, the culms 8-10 dm. tall, solid, grooved above the nodes.
Leaves

Sheaths open, usually glabrous, strongly keeled;

ligules 1-1.5 mm. long, puberulent;

blades flat or folded, 2-5 mm. broad, mostly glabrous.
Flowers

Inflorescence a branched panicle, each branch ending in a single, arching raceme 3-5 cm. long;

spikelets in pairs, one sessile and one pedicellate, the pedicellate spikelet 4-5 mm. long, sterile, with an awn 1-4 mm. long; sessile spikelet 2-flowered, 7-9 mm. long, with an awn 10-13 mm. long, the upper flower perfect, the lower an empty lemma;

palea much reduced, lacerate.

Schizachyrium scoparium
Flowering time July-September
Habitat Sagebrush desert.
Distribution
Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, but apparently not in Oregon, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Native
Conservation status Threatened in Washington (WANHP)
Subordinate taxa
S. scoparium var. scoparium
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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