Andropogon gerardii
Andropogon brachystachyus
Barbon de Gerard, big bluestem
shortspike bluestem
1-3 m, often glaucous.
1.1-3.1 m;
internodes not glaucous;
branches arching.
glabrous or pilose;
ligules 0.4-2.5 mm;
blades 5-50 cm long, (2)5-10 mm wide, usually pilose adaxially, at least near the collar.
smooth;
ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, ciliate, cilia 0.6-1.5 mm;
blades 21-54 cm long, 2.3-6 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, with spreading hairs.
usually only terminal;
peduncles with 2-6(10) rames;
rames 5-11 cm, exserted at maturity, usually purplish, sometimes yellowish;
internodes sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs 2.2-4.2 mm, usually white, rarely yellowish.
12-190 per culm; subtending sheaths (2.1)2.4-3.5(4.1) cm long, (2.3)2.6-3(3.8) mm wide;
peduncles (13)20-31(43) mm, with 2(3) rames;
rames (1.2)1.5-2.1(2.6) cm, usually exserted at maturity, pubescence increasing in density distally within each internode.
spikelets 5-11 mm, scabrous;
awns 8-25 mm;
anthers 3, 2.5-4.5 mm.
spikelets (4.1)4.4-4.6(5) mm;
callus hairs 1-1.5 mm;
keels of lower glumes scabrous only above the midpoint;
awns 2-11 mm;
anthers 1, 1.4-2.4 mm, red.
spikelets 3.5-12 mm, usually well-developed and staminate.
spikelets vestigial or absent.
= 20, 40, 60 (usually), 70, 80.
= 20.
Andropogon gerardii
Andropogon brachystachyus
Andropogon gerardii grows in prairies, meadows, and generally dry soils. It is a widespread species, extending from southern Canada to Mexico, and was once dominant over much of its range. It is frequently planted for erosion control, restoration, or as an ornamental; the records from Washington and central Montana reflect such plantings. It hybridizes with A. ballii, the two sometimes being treated as conspecific subspecies.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Andropogon brachystachyus grows in sandy, often seasonally wet soils of flatwoods, savannahs, pond margins, and scrublands of the southeastern United States. It sometimes forms large populations, but does not invade disturbed sites as do some morphologically similar forms of A. virginicus var. virginicus.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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