Big Bluestem
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Andropogon
Species: A. gerardii
General Characteristics: Big Bluestem is a warm season, perennial bunchgrass with blue-green stems 4-8 ft. tall. The seedhead is usually branched into three parts and resembles a turkey’s foot. Fall color is maroonish-tan. It tends to be taller than the other species and was at one time very abundant. It can still get quite aggressive when its established in a favorable, undisturbed location, but overgrazing and land destruction have reduced it to mere patches of its former range. Part of the problem is that cattle love it so much - some ranchers refer to it as ice cream for cows - and it cannot take concentrated grazing; the seasonal grazing of migratory bison is what its evolved to cope with.
Special Adaptations: Provides cover for at least 24 species of songbirds and nesting sites or seeds for Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, and other sparrows.
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