Andropogon ternarius | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Genus: | Andropogon |
Species: | A. ternarius |
Binomial name | |
Andropogon ternarius | |
Andropogon ternarius is a species of grass known by the common names split bluestem, splitbeard bluestem, silver bluestem, and paintbrush bluestem. It is native to the southeastern, east-central, and south-central parts of the United States, where it occurs from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. [2]
This perennial grass forms tufts of branching stems reaching 120 [2] to 150 [3] centimeters in maximum height. The inflorescence is made up of pairs of feathery racemes, each of which contains pairs of spikelets. Each pair is made up of one fertile spikelet and one sterile. The fertile spikelet has an awn up to 2.5 centimeters long. The spikelets are coated in very long, silvery hairs. [2] [3] [1] In the Great Plains, the grass blooms in August through October. In the Carolinas blooming occurs in September and October and in Louisiana the grass blooms in the fall. [2] One variety of this species, the Florida endemic var. cabanisii, has been treated as a separate species, A. cabanisii. [3] [1]
This grass grows in pine and oak forests and on prairie. It is dominant in the pine savanna around the Texas-Louisiana border. It grows in disturbed habitat types such as grazed pastures, ditches, and abandoned crop fields. Old fields in the southern United States are often colonized with the grass and its relative, broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus). In the ecological succession of abandoned fields in the region, the bluestem grasses grow after various annual and perennial weeds but before pines move in to shade them out. [2]
Cattle graze on the grass. Northern bobwhite are known to nest in bunches of it. [2]
Andropogon gerardi, commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.
Sorghastrum nutans, commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the Central United States, the Eastern United States, and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies.
Lolium perenne, common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.
Andropogon glomeratus is a species of grass known by the common names bushy bluestem and bushy beardgrass. This bunchgrass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It has also naturalized in other areas.
Andropogon virginicus is a species of grass known by several common names, including broomsedge bluestem, yellowsedge bluestem and whiskey grass. It is native to the southeastern United States and as far north as the Great Lakes. It is known as an introduced species in California and Hawaii, where it is weedy.
Bothriochloa barbinodis is a species of grass known by the common name cane bluestem. It is native to the Americas, including most of South and Central America, Mexico, and the southernmost continental United States from California to Florida.
Agrostis scabra is a common species of grass known by the common names hair grass, rough bent, rough bent grass, winter bent grass, and ticklegrass. A tumbleweed, it is a bunchgrass native to Asia and much of North America, and widely known elsewhere as an introduced species.
The many-flowered grass-pink, Calopogon multiflorus, is a species of orchid. It is a perennial forb that requires recurring ground fires to maintain its habitat. It falls under the genus Calopogon, meaning "beautiful beard" in Greek, referring to the stamen-like bristles or beard on the lip.
Lespedeza leptostachya is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to purplish and arranged into a narrow terminal spikes.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
Achnatherum thurberianum is a species of grass known by the common name Thurber's needlegrass. It is native to the western United States, where it occurs from Washington to California and east to Montana and Wyoming.
Arundinaria gigantea is a species of bamboo known as giant cane, river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas and as far north as New York. Giant river cane was economically and culturally important to indigenous people, with uses including as a vegetable and materials for construction and craft production. Arundinaria gigantea and other species of Arundinaria once grew in large colonies called canebrakes covering thousands of acres in the southeastern United States, but today these canebrakes are considered endangered ecosystems.
Calamagrostis montanensis is a species of grass known by the common names plains reedgrass and prairie reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it is found across Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to Colorado in the United States.
Leymus innovatus is a species of grass known as downy ryegrass, boreal wildrye, hairy wildrye, fuzzyspike wildrye, northern wildrye, and northwestern wildrye. It is native to northern North America from Alaska to eastern Canada and south to Colorado.
Muhlenbergia cuspidata is a species of grass known by the common name plains muhly. It is native to North America where it is distributed across central Canada and the central United States.
Panicum hemitomon is a species of grass known by the common name maidencane. It is native to North America, where it occurs along the southeastern coastline from New Jersey to Texas. It is also present in South America.
Schizachyrium tenerum is a species of grass known by the common name slender little bluestem, or slender bluestem. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs in North, Central, and South America. In North America it can be found in the southeastern United States and much of Mexico.
Amphicarpum muehlenbergianum is a species of grass known by the common names blue maidencane, Muhlenberg maidencane, and goobergrass. It is native to the southeastern United States.
Dichanthium annulatum is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is commonly used as a forage for livestock.
Hyparrhenia rufa is a species of grass known by the common names jaraguá, jaraguá grass, and giant thatching grass. It is native to Africa and it is widespread in the world as a cultivated forage and fodder for livestock and a naturalized and sometimes invasive species.