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• Dichotomous Key
• Poaceae
• Poaceae Group 9
• Andropogon
• Andropogon virginicus

Andropogon virginicus — broomsedge bluestem

Facts

Although it is native to North America and southern New England, broomsedge bluestem is sometimes considered a weed in the sense that it colonizes poorly-managed pastureland, and is considered low quality forage plant for cattle. The Cherokee used the stems, alone or with onion peels, to make a yellow dye.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), grassland, meadows and fields, wetland margins (edges of wetlands), woodlands

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.6–1.5 mm

  Anther number

  1

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  1

  Floret types within spikelet

  there are at least two distinct forms of florets within one spikelet

  Glume relative length

  one or both glumes are as long or longer than all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is flat or curved in cross-section

  Glume veins

  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 7 or more

  Inflorescence arrangement

  • the plant has two types of spikelets with different reproductive structures
  • the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence crowding

  NA

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence has pairs (or trios) of spikelets, but with one always either missing a stalk or on a shorter stalk than the other

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  6–21 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  One or more florets

  there is one floret per spikelet

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off below the glumes

  Spikelet length

  2.6–4.7 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelets per panicle branch

  0

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

• Leaves

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade length

  11–52 cm

  Leaf blade width

  1.7–6.5 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.2–1 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island

  Specific habitat

  • edges of wetlands
  • grasslands
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields
  • woodlands

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae