The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

slender bluestem, slender little bluestem

crimson bluestem

Habit Plants cespitose. Plants cespitose.
Culms

60-100 cm, sometimes reclining or decumbent, glabrous.

40-120 cm, erect, not rooting or branching at the lower nodes, glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous, rounded;

ligules 0.7-2 mm;

blades 7-20 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, usually with long, papillose-based hairs basally, glabrous elsewhere, sometimes scabrous, without a longitudinal stripe of white, spongy tissue.

Peduncles

4-6 cm;

rames 4-15 cm, not open, usually almost fully exserted at maturity;

internodes 4-6 mm, straight, from mostly glabrous with a tuft of hairs at the base to densely hirsute all over.

Pedicels

3-5 mm, glabrous.

3-6 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide at the base, gradually widening to about 0.6-0.8 mm at the top, straight.

Collars

not elongate, about as wide as the blade;

ligules to 0.5 mm, ciliolate;

blades 5-15 cm long, 0.5-2 mm wide, involute or flat, glabrous or sparsely hairy basally, with a wide central zone of bulliform cells evident on the adaxial surfaces as a longitudinal stripe of white, spongy tissue.

Rames

2-6 cm, eventually long-exserted;

internodes 2-4 mm, straight, glabrous.

Sessile

spikelets 3.5-4.5 mm;

calluses 0.5-1 mm, hairs to 1.2 mm;

lower glumes glabrous;

upper lemmas acute, entire;

awns 6-10 mm.

spikelets 5-9 mm;

calluses 0.5-1 mm, hairs to 2 mm;

lower glumes glabrous or densely pubescent;

upper lemmas cleft for (2/3)3/4-7/8 of their length;

awns 15-25 mm.

Pedicellate

spikelets usually as long as or slightly longer than the sessile spikelets, sterile, unawned.

spikelets 3-5 mm, usually evidently shorter than the sessile spikelets, sterile or staminate, awned, awns 0.3-6 mm.

2n

= 60.

Schizachyrium tenerum

Schizachyrium sanguineum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; OK; TX; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AZ; FL; GA; NM; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Schizachyrium tenerum is an uncommon species in the southeastern United States, where it grows on sandy soils in pine forest openings and coastal prairies. Its range extends through Central America into South America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Schizachyrium sanguineum extends from the southern United States to Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Lower glumes of the sessile spikelets glabrous or scabrous; pedicels ciliate on 1 edge
var. sanguineum
1. Lower glumes of the sessile spikelets pubescent to hirsute; pedicels ciliate on both edges
var. hirtiflorum
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 672. FNA vol. 25, p. 674.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Andropogoneae > Schizachyrium Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Andropogoneae > Schizachyrium
Sibling taxa
S. cirratum, S. littorale, S. maritimum, S. niveum, S. rhizomatum, S. sanguineum, S. scoparium, S. spadiceum
S. cirratum, S. littorale, S. maritimum, S. niveum, S. rhizomatum, S. scoparium, S. spadiceum, S. tenerum
Subordinate taxa
S. sanguineum var. hirtiflorum, S. sanguineum var. sanguineum
Synonyms Andropogon tener
Name authority Nees (Retz.) Alston
Web links