Little bluestem. Photo by M. Kowalchuk
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Little bluestem

Schizachyrium scoparium

This handsome grass shows its beauty the best in the autumn when it turns whole fields into a sea of copper and bronze. It is a favourite of landscapers.

general description

long-lived perennial with wiry, purplish stem, lots of flattened leaves, and short rhizomes; turns reddish bronze after a frost; clumpy growth in dry soil and sod-forming in moist areas; grows to 60 cm (24 in.)

leaves

leaves flat or folded to 7 mm (1/4 in.) wide and 20 cm (8 in.) long; blue-green, often tinged with red, a little twisted; flattened lower stems and sheaths

flowers

flower heads on solitary branches, densely hairy and feathery when mature; fluffy hair-covered awned seed; flowers August to September

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habitat

common throughout the area in pastures, along roadsides and in open woods; in southwestern Manitoba found in areas with high water tables or abundant moisture; grows on a wide range of soils; often found on calcium-rich soils

best places to see

Spruce Woods Provincial Park; Bird's Hill Provincial Park; Living Prairie Museum; Assiniboine Forest; Little bluestem can often be seen as persistent clumps of grass growing in ditches throughout the prairie region of Manitoba but especially in sandy regions

Grass species descriptions are from: Moore, J. 2003. Common Native Pasture Plants of southern Manitoba; A landowner’s guide. Critical Wildlife Habitat Program. Winnipeg, Canada.