Summary ³

Andropogon gerardi, known commonly as big bluestem, turkeyfoot, tall bluestem, and bluejoint, is a tall grass (family Poaceae) native to much of the Great Plains and prairie regions of central North America and grasslands, savannas and woodlands throughout eastern North America.

Identification ⁴

Size: 4-7' tall

Typically has 2-6 (most commonly 3) spike-like racemes, resembling a turkey foot

Young leaves can be identified by the long hairs at the leaf base

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Diane Wetherbee, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Diane Wetherbee
2. (c) whalenn0712, all rights reserved, uploaded by whalenn0712
3. Adapted by whalenn0712 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andropogon_gerardi
4. (c) whalenn0712, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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