Andropogon gerardii

Big bluestem is being rediscovered as commercial hay and a forage plant. Its leaves are very nutritious for cattle, and cows and bison love it. Prairie chickens and some songbirds consume the seeds. This species provides both food and cover for numerous livestock and wildlife species. Upland game birds and songbirds eat the seeds.
Photo Credit: © Sally and Andy Wasowski, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, wildflower.org.
Andropogon gerardii
Common Name: big bluestem
Other Common Names: bluejoint, turkeyfoot
Plant Functional Group: Graminoid
Class > Order > Family: Magnoliopsida > Poales > Poaceae
What does the species look like?

Big bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass growing 3 to 10 feet tall. Its green flowers are small and inconspicuous and arranged along finger-like spikes. They are wind-pollinated.

Big bluestem occurs in arid landscapes or on dry slopes. It prefers the deep, fertile, dry soils of prairies, plains, and open woods, but also grows on shallow, gravelly ridges during wet periods.
Where is the species found?
States & Provinces
AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MB, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, ON, PA, QC, RI, SC, SD, SK, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY
Special Considerations for Observing

If drought seems to be the cause of leaf withering for a plant, please make a comment to that effect.
Which phenophases should I observe?
Do you see...?
Leaves Initial growth
New growth of the plant is visible after a period of no growth (winter or drought), either as new green shoots sprouting from nodes on existing stems, new green shoots breaking through the soil surface, or re-greening of dried stems or leaves. For each shoot, growth is considered "initial" until the first leaf has unfolded or has fully re-greened.
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Leaves
One or more live, green, unfolded leaves are visible on the plant. A leaf is considered "unfolded" once it unrolls slightly from around the stem and begins to fall away at an angle from the stem. Do not include fully dried or dead leaves.
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What percentage of the plant is green?

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Flowers Flower heads
One or more fresh flower heads (inflorescences) are visible on the plant. Flower heads, which include many small flowers arranged in spikelets, emerge from inside the stem and gradually grow taller. Include flower heads with unopened or open flowers, but do not include heads whose flowers have all wilted or dried or begun to develop into fruits (grains).
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How many fresh flower heads are present?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
Open flowers
One or more open, fresh flowers are visible on the plant. A flower is considered "open" when reproductive parts (male anthers or female stigmata) can be seen protruding from the spikelet. Do not include flowers with wilted or dried reproductive parts.
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What percentage of all fresh flowers (unopened plus open) on the plant are open?

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Pollen release
One or more flowers on the plant release visible pollen grains when gently shaken or blown into your palm or onto a dark surface.
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How much pollen is released?

  • Little: Only a few grains are released.
  • Some: Many grains are released.
  • Lots: A layer of pollen covers your palm, or a cloud of pollen can be seen in the air when the wind blows

Fruits Fruits
One or more fruits are visible on the plant. For Andropogon gerardii, the fruit is a tiny grain, closely arranged along a few spike-like branches that arise together near the base of the seed head, that changes texture from soft or watery to hard and drops from the plant. Do not include seed heads that have already dropped all of their grains.
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How many fruits are present?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
Ripe fruits
One or more ripe fruits are visible on the plant. For Andropogon gerardii, a fruit is considered ripe when it is hard when squeezed and difficult to divide with a fingernail, or when it readily drops from the plant when touched.
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What percentage of all fruits (unripe plus ripe) on the plant are ripe?

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Recent fruit or seed drop
One or more mature fruits or seeds have dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit. Do not include obviously immature fruits that have dropped before ripening, such as in a heavy rain or wind, or empty fruits that had long ago dropped all of their seeds but remained on the plant.
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How many mature fruits have dropped seeds or have completely dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
What do these phenophases look like?

There is currently no photoguide available for this species. If you'd like help us create one, use the guidance document and species template provided here. Then send it via email to education@usanpn.org when it is complete.

USDA PLANTS profile for big bluestem (USDA Symbol: ANGE )