BLUESTEM

also called beard grass any of the approximately 200 species of perennial, sometimes tufted grasses in the genus Andropogon (family Poaceae), distributed throughout the temperate and tropical zones. The coarse plants have flat or folded leaf blades, solid or pithy stems, and flower spikelets clustered at the stem tips or in the leaf axils. The stems are often hairy, sometimes reddish or greenish in appearance. Several species have underground stems. Big bluestem (A. gerardii), often more than 2 metres (6 1/2 feet) tall, is the characteristic plant species of the North American tall-grass prairie. It is sometimes known as turkeyfoot, in reference to its forked flower cluster. Little bluestem (A. scoparius), 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, is found in drier prairie areas. Both species are good hay and pasture plants. Sand bluestem (A. hallii), with yellowish spikelets, grows on sand hills in the central and western United States. Broom sedge (A. virginicus) and bushy beard grass (A. glomeratus) are coarse grasses, unsuitable for forage, that grow in poor soils in eastern and southern North America. Silver beard grass (A. saccharoides), 0.6 to 1.3 m tall, has silvery white flower clusters 7 to 15 centimetres long; it is a forage grass in the southwestern United States.