''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

native to much of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.

Taxonomy

''Andropogon gerardi'' was formally named in 1792 by

Fulgenzio Vitman Fulgenzio Vitman (1728–1806) was an Italian clergyman and botanist. In 1774, he developed the Brera Botanical Garden in Milan out of a former Jesuit garden, under the direction of Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Chri ...

. It was named for French botanist Louis Gérard, who had first described the plant from specimens that had been cultivated in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

, France. Kew's International Plant Names Index and

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

Germplasm Resources Information Network reject the spelling ''gerardii'' and provide reasoning for ''gerardi'' as being the correct spelling for the specific epithet of this taxon. ''Andropogon gerardii'' still makes appearances in various literature, including other USDA publications.

Description

Big bluestem is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

warm-season

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...

. It is tolerant of a wide range of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

conditions. The main

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

s are deep, and the plants send out strong, tough

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

s, so it forms very strong sod. Depending on soil and moisture conditions, it grows to a height of . The stem base turns blue or purple as it matures. Big bluestem blooms in the summer and seeds into the fall. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

(cluster of flowers) is a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

of two to six, most commonly three, narrow spike-like racemes alternately arranged along the top of the stem. It somewhat resembles a

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

's foot. Each raceme contains pairs of spikelets. Each pair has a stalked spikelet with another stalkless spikelet at the base of the stalk. The stalkless spikelet usually has a fertile, perfect

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

(with both female and male parts) and an awn (bristle), and the stalked spikelet is awnless, and is sterile or has a staminate (male) flower.

Ecology

Big bluestem is a mid successional grass in prairie and other grassland ecosystems. It grows in tall, dense stands that can outcompete other plant species. The stands grow until disturbance interrupts their spread. It is shade intolerant and is adapted to fire. It is a host to larvae of several species of butterflies, including the

arogos skipper ''Atrytone arogos'', the arogos skipper or beard-grass skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the United States in isolated colonies in Georgia, peninsular Florida, the Gulf Coast, south-east North Dakota and central M ...

byssus skipper ''Problema byssus'', the byssus skipper or bunchgrass skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found along the Atlantic coastal plain of North America, from North Carolina south to Florida and the Gulf States and from northern In ...

cobweb skipper ''Hesperia metea'', the cobweb skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It has a scattered distribution in the United States from southern Maine west to Wisconsin, south to central Georgia, the Gulf States and central Texas. The wings ...

, common wood nymph,

Delaware skipper ''Anatrytone logan'', the Delaware skipper, is a North American butterfly. It is a member of the subfamily Hesperiinae, the grass skippers. This skipper ranges from the southern Canadian Prairies and southern Ontario through the midwestern and e ...

, and

dusted skipper ''Atrytonopsis hianna'', the dusted skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the United States from eastern Wyoming, central Colorado, northern New Mexico and central Texas east to New Hampshire and Massachusetts, so ...

. The larvae of the leaf beetle '' Diabrotica cristata'' feed on the roots and the adults visit the flowers of other species of prairie flowers. Many ants decorate their nests with the seeds, including '' Formica glacialis'', '' F. montana'', and '' F. subsericea''. Several species of ants, such as ''F. glacialis'', ''F. montana'', ''F. subsericea'', '' Lasius minutus'', and '' L. umbratus'' build nests around the base of this bunchgrass, forming large soil mounds. In larger mounds, the nest is shared by multiple species of ants, and is "likened to an apartment complex with each ant species in its own nest partition". Up to 12 species of ants have been recorded in mounds found in the Chicago region. The rust fungus '' Puccinia andropogonis'' forms black telia on the leaves.

Uses

The grass and its variants are good

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also use ...

for

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

, and can also be cut and used for hay. The grass is high in protein. While not considered the highest quality native forage found in the United States, it has long been considered a desirable and ecologically important grass by cattle ranchers and rangeland ecologists. Big bluestem is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries for its drought tolerance and native status. It is often grown for

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, ...

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural land ...

, and

habitat restoration projects. Due to its high

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...

, big bluestem is being considered as a potential feedstock for

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...

production.

Symbols

''Andropogon gerardi'' is the state grass of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and the official prairie grass of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q663311, from2=Q66980288

gerardi Gerardi is an Italian surname. It may refer to: * Federico Gerardi (born 1987), Italian footballer * Giulio Gerardi (1912–2001), Italian cross-country skier * Juan José Gerardi Conedera (1922–1998), Roman Catholic Bishop in Guatemala * Kelli ...